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THE NEW TESTAMENT

FOR

ENGLISH READERS.

VOL. I.
THE FOUR GOSPELS AND ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

PART L— THE THREE FIRST GOSPELS.

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THE

NEW TESTAMENT

FOB

ENGLISH READERS:

CONTAINING THE AUTHORIZED VERSION,

WITH MARGINAL CORRECTIONS OF READINGS AND RENDERINGS ;

MARGINAL REFERENCES;

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY COMMENTARY;

HENRY ALFORD, D.D.

BEAK OF CAWTERBUBY.

nr TWO TOLUME8.

VOL. I.
Pakt I.— THE THREE FIRST GOSPELS

SECOND EDITION.

RIVINGTONS,

Xonfton, ©xfortr, an* CDambrfrgr.

DEIGHTON, BELL, AND CO.,

tombrfrgc.

1868.

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v./.'/

LONDON :
GIXBEBT AKD EITINGTON, PEIJJTEBS,

ST. John's square.

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THE SECOND EDITION.

Since the First Edition was published, the evidence of the
recently-found Sinaitic Manuscript has been added to our ancient
testimonies regarding the Sacred Text. This has occasioned many
variations, which have been indicated in the margin of this Edition,
so as to make it conformable to the last Edition of my Greek
Testament. The notes, except where such variations necessitated
a change, remain as before.

Canteebuet,
Christmas, 1867.

8670;]

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CONTENTS OF THE INTRODUCTION.

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.

PAGE

Of the Present Work 1

CHAPTER L

OX THE THREE FIRST GOSPELS GENERALLY.
8BOTXOH

I. General Characteristics of the Three First Gospels 7

II. Their Independence of one another 8

III. The Origin of onr Three Gospels 12

IV. The Discrepancies, apparent and real, of the Three Gospels . . . .17
V. The Fragmentary Nature of the Three Gospels 19

VI. The Inspiration of the Evangelists and other N. T. Writers ... 20

VIL Impracticability of constructing a formal Harmony of the Three Gospels . 27

CHAPTER H.

OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.

L Its Authorship 29

II. Its Original Language 80

III. For what Readers and with what Object it was written .... 80

IV. At what Time it was written 81

V. Its Style and Character 82

CHAPTER HX

OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK.

I. Its Authorship 88

II. Its Origin . . . .83

III. For what Readers and with what Object it was written .... 86

IV. At what Time it was written 86

V. At what Place it was written 87

VI. In what Language it waB written 87

VII. Genuineness of the Gospel 88

VIII. Its Style and Character 89

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viii CONTENTS OF THE INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER IV.

. OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.
SECTION PAGE

I. Its Authorship 40

II. Its Origin 41

III. For what Readers and with what Object it was written .... 43

IV. At what Time it was written 44

Y. At what Place it was written 47

VI. In what Language it was written 47

VII. Genuineness of the Gospel 47

VIII. The Authenticity of the Two First Chapters 48

IX. Its Style and Character . .49

ERRATA.

At Matt. xxvi. 55, "Are ye come out," &c, insert marginal note, " render, Ye are
come out, &c., without note of interrogation "

At Luke vii. 32, "and saying," Ac, insert marginal note, "read, which say."

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INTRODUCTION.

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.

OF THE PBBSENT WORK.

1. This Edition of the New Testament is undertaken with a view
to put the English reader, whose knowledge is confined to our own
language, in possession of some of the principal results of the labours of
critics and scholars on the sacred text.

2. There are of course very many cases where this cannot be done.
The English reader must be content to remain in ignorance of all those
minute niceties of meaning and connexion, which depend on the import
of the constructions and the particles in a language far surpassing our
own in its power of expressing the varying shades and slightest turns
of thought.

3. But it is believed that there are far more cases, where there is no
reason why these results should not be imparted to him. And the more
we value the inspired word of God, the more anxious ought we to be,
that all should possess every help to ensure the purity of its text, and to
clear up its true meaning.

4. In the present state of the English reader's knowledge of his Bible,
there are two great obstacles to the attainment of these ends. The one
consists in his ignorance of the variations of reading in the ancient
authorities from which the sacred text is derived; the other in his
ignorance of the existence of other and often indisputably better ren-
derings of the sacred text than that which the version before him gives.
Our Authorized Version is, as a translation, of high excellence, and is
never to be thought of by Englishmen without reverence, and gratitude
to Almighty God. But it is derived very often from readings of the
Greek which are not based on the authority of our best ancient
witnesses ; and it frequently gives an inadequate rendering of the text
which it professes to translate.

5. The principal instances of both these imperfections it is the object
Vol. L— 1] a

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intkoduction.] OF THE PRESENT WORK. [preliminary

of the present Edition to enable the English reader to correct for himself.
Words and passages, which in our Authorized Version are wrongly read
or inadequately rendered, are printed in italics in the text, the true
reading or rendering being pointed out, in the margin below, in the same
type as the rest of the text. Besides this, in cases where the principal
ancient authorities differ about the reading of the text, the variation is
stated in the margin.

6. Marginal notices are also appended in some cases where antiquated
terms, or expressions generally misunderstood, are used in the Authorized
Version.

7. The notes are mainly an adaptation and abridgment of those in my
Edition of the Greek Testament. Additions are sometimes made to
those notes, where further explanations, of a nature suitable to the
English reader, seemed to be required.

8. The marginal references are adapted and abridged from those found
in our ordinary English Bibles. I found, on examination, that many of
these were either irrelevant or superfluous, and that sometimes passages
the most important for elucidation were not adduced at all. It may be
well to mention that the parallel places in the Gospels are not cited on
the margin, being systematically given at the head of each paragraph in
the notes.

9. It is necessary, at a time when there is so much unsettled opinion
respecting the authority of Scripture, to state plainly in the outset, the
belief of the Editor on that point, and the principles on which his work
has been undertaken.

10. I regard the Canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to
have been given by inspiration of Almighty God, and in this respect to
differ from all other books in the world. I rest this my belief on the
consent of Christ's Holy Catholic Church, and on evidence furnished by
those books themselves !.

11. I find that it has pleased God to deliver His revelation of Himself
to man, which is contained in those books, by the vehicles of human
testimony, human speech, and human writing. All the phenomena neces-
sarily incident to these human vehicles I consequently expect, and find,
in our sacred books as we have them.

12. Their writers testified that which was true. The Spirit of Truth
dwelt in them specially for this purpose. But He did not divest their
testimony of its human character. Their peculiar styles and manners of
writing were not taken away, nor their disposition to record peculiar
facts, and to note different aspects of the truth. Each holy man set
down that which he had seen or heard, or which ho found in trustworthy

1 I have treated of this matter more formally and in detail further on, in Chap. I.
§ vi. of this Introduction. But I have considered it desirable besides, to publish a
general statement in the preliminary account of this English edition.
2]

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chapter.] OF THE PRESENT WORK. [introduction.

record, or heard from competent witnesses ; and in this remembrance or
selection, he was guided specially by the Holy Spirit. But each man
reported, and each man selected, according to his own personal charac-
teristics of thought and feeling. Any one who can read the Gospel and
Epistles of St. John, and doubt this, would seem to me to re ad to little
purpose indeed.

13. A very important result of this may be thus stated. The two,
three, of four, Gospel records of the same event are each of them
separately true : written by men divinely guided into truth, and relating
facts which happened, and as they happened. If we could now see the
whole details of the event, we should also see that each narrative is true,
and how it is true. But, not seeing the whole details of the event, and
having only these two, three, or four, independent accounts, we must be
prepared sometimes to find, that they appear to be discrepant the one
from the other: and we must not expect that we can reconcile such
apparent discrepancies. It is a case where we must walk by faith, not
by appearance. One day we may, and one day I firmly believe we shall,
see the event with all its details as it happened, and shall be permitted
to glorify God for the Truth of His holy Word in every particular ; but
that day is not yet come.

14. This is the belief, and these are the principles, on which I have
recognized and dealt with what appear to me the undeniable apparent
discrepancies in detail between some of the Gospel narratives. I have
never attempted to force them into accordance. I shrink from doing so,
and I see no end gained by doing so. On the other hand, I believe the
confirmation of the faith, gained by the testimony which these discre-
pancies furnish to the absolute independence of the narratives, to be of
infinitely more importance, than would be the most complete piecing
together of them into one apparently harmonious whole.

15. Human Breech was also a vehicle chosen by God for the transmis-
sion of the Revelation of Himself to man. Now all language is liable to
be imperfectly understood. Few things can be expressed so clearly, but
that some possibility occurs of an interpretation being given, other than
was intended. And this defect of the instrument of thought has certainly
not been removed in its employment by God Himself. Nay this very
employment by Him has rather tended to increase the defect : the things
which it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive, when set
forth in human speech, are too deep and weighty for the instrument
which should convey them, and the result is that the sayings of Holy
Scripture are often extremely difficult to understand. *• The unlearned
and unstable," we are told, " wrest them to their own destruction :" and
short of this, their sense is often misapprehended, and their true signi-
ficance set aside, for want of intelligent study. We often hear Holy
Scripture spoken of as if it were not only all true, which it is, — but all

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introduction.] OF THE PRESENT WORK. [preliminary

so plain that there can be no question as to its meaning, which it as
certainly is not. Coming as it does from God, its simplest saying has in
it a depth which the human mind cannot fathom : and its apparently
disjoined sentences have a connexion which it often surpasses even the
practised eye to discover, or the most ripened and chastened judgment
satisfactorily to pronounce upon.

16. The reader of this work will find this conviction lying at the root
of all its endeavours to explain Scripture : that we are dealing not with
mere human thoughts, whose significance we may exhaust and surpass,
but with divine Truth, conveyed to us in human words — the treasure, in
the earthen vessel. No amount of labour can be ill bestowed in search-
ing into, and comparing, and meditating on, the import and the connexion
of the words of Scripture. Nor are we to expect a time when our work
may be regarded as done. As the ages of the world and of the Church
pass onward, new lights will ever be thrown upon God's word, by passing
events, by the toil of thought, by the discoveries of historical research
and of scientific enquiry.

17. Nor has the Bible any reason to fear the utmost activity, and the
furthest extension, of such pursuits. We have been, I am persuaded, too
timid and anxious in this matter. Let research and enquiry be carried
forward in every direction, and in a fearless spirit : and when their results
are most completely established and firmly assured to us, then will it be
most undeniably found, that Creation, Providence, and Revelation/ are
the work of the same God : — then will the plainest light be thrown on
the meaning of Holy Scripture, in all points on which such research and
enquiry bear.

18. We are too apt to forget that another vehicle in which God has
transmitted to us His Revelation, is human writing. The conservation
of the sacred books by His Providence ought to be taken into account,
as well as their original composition. The general notion concerning
the Bible, as regards this point, may perhaps be not unjustly described
as being, that the sacred text has come down to us in one unquestioned
form, and that form represented by the English Authorized Version.
The fact of some variations existing here and there is perhaps known,
but its import is at once nullified by some statement, that these varia-
tions make no possible difference in the sense : and there the matter is
allowed to rest : some even doubting the expediency of further inviting
the English reader to its consideration.

19. But surely such a course is hardly that of those who are exhorted to
be "not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." If it
has pleased God, in the course of His providential care of His word, that
certain portions of it should be variously transmitted to us, can we, with-
out blame, resolve to shut our eyes to this His will ? And the case, as
affecting English readers, is even stronger than this. There is one

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chapter.] OF THE PRESENT WORK, [introduction.

passage, commonly printed in all our Bibles, read in our churches as
God's Word, which undeniably forms no portion of His Word at all, viz.
1 John v. 7 : there are more, which rest upon far weaker evidence than
do other forms of the Word, which ought long ago to have been substi-
tuted for them. Can we be held blameless, with the knowledge of
these things before us, for not having set this matter right ?

20. It has been my desire for many years, that I might contribute,
however scantily and imperfectly, towards furnishing the English reader
with some means of intelligently dealing with and appreciating these
important facts respecting the text of the New Testament. My wish
has at length taken shape in this Edition, the first part of which is now
offered to the Public. I would wish it to be understood that I put it
forth as an experiment, liable to be corrected and improved, if necessary,
both in form and in detail. It was my original intention to give an
amended version of the sacred text : and I still think that for the com-
pleteness and full usefulness of the work, such a version would be neces-
sary. After all possible marginal corrections of inadequate renderings,
there are many improvements in minute expression and arrangement,
tending to clear up the meaning, which must necessarily be passed over
where the Authorized Version is printed as the text.

21. It has been my endeavour, in the notes, to give as much informa-
tion as I could respecting the general currents of opinion and interpre-
tation, without burdening the reader with long catalogues of names.
The introduction of some names has been unavoidable. The German
Commentaries of Olshausen and . Meyer, for instance, are so valuable,
and so rich in original material, that I have often cited them. The latter
of these writers, though unhappily not to be trusted where there is any
room for the introduction of rationalistic opinions, is, in accurate inter-
pretation of the words and constructions of the sacred text, by far the
best of all commentators. Another work has been found very valuable :
the Reden Jem (Discourses of Jesus) of the late venerable Rudolf Stier.
Stier was a Christian scholar of the orthodox Evangelical party, — of a
simple and fervid spirit, — apt sometimes to find fanciful allusions and
connexions, but full of the power of spiritual discernment ; and his great
work above mentioned has certainly been among the most valuable of
modern contributions to the understanding of our Lord's words.

22. The reader will find in my Commentary no sympathy whatever
with the rationalistic school. Believing in the Eternal Godhead and
Perfect Humanity of our Blessed Lord, and in the agency of the Almighty
Spirit in Him, and through Him in His Apostles and servants, I regard
His divine miracles as proofs of His mission, and of His authority over
nature, as being the Creator of nature. The faith of the centurion (Luke
vii. 8), so wonderful in him, is that of all Catholic Christians : that the
powers of Nature serve the Son of God, as servants their master.

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introduction.] OF THE PRESENT WORK.

23. Widely different however from any expression of rationalistic
opinion is the caiTying out of the enquiry, sometimes forced on us,
whether an incident related in the sacred narrative is intended to be
miraculous, or not. Such an enquiry might for example naturally occur
regarding the rising up of St. Paul after he was stoned at Lystra (Acts
xiv. 19, 20). Such an enquiry, I have believed, is fairly open to us in
the case of the narrative of the Star of the Wise Men. Was that a
miraculous appearance from first to last, or was it some phenomenon in
the ordinary course of the celestial revolutions, which the Magi were
guided by God to interpret as they did ? I have been led to incline to
the latter view. I have no bias leading me that way : I should feel no
difficulty whatever in receiving the whole as miraculous, did I think the
sacred text required me to do so. Those who do think this, have much
to favour their view. But let them concede to a Christian brother the
right to enquire into the meaning of the sacred text itself, without
binding him to a pre-conception of that meaning : and let them abstain
from harsh judgment, where his enquiry has led him to a conclusion
different from that to which they themselves have come.

24. In closing this preliminary chapter, I may venture to Bay, that I
hope this work may be found useful to those readers for whom it has
been specially designed. It is not in the proper sense of the word, a
popular Edition of the New Testament. Some cultivation of mind by
an ordinary liberal education will be required for its use : but certainly
not more than is possessed by Christian women in the middle ranks of
life, and by the majority of the mercantile classes. Should it be found
to contribute in any degree towards the diffusion of an intelligent know-
ledge of the contents of God's Holy Word, I shall be more than rewarded
for the labour bestowed on it.

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ch. i. § i.J GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS, [introduction.

CHAPTER I.

ON THE THREE FIRST GOSPELS GENERALLY.

SECTION I.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OP THE THREE FIRST GOSPELS.

1. On examining the four records of our Lord's life on earth, the first
thing which demands our notice is the distinctness, in contents and
character, of the three first Gospels from the fourth. This difference
may be thus shortly described.

2. St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, in relating His ministry,
discourses, and miracles, confine themselves exclusively to the events
which took place in Galilee, until the last journey to Jerusalem. No
incident whatever of His ministry in Judaea is related by any of them '.
Had we only their accounts, we could never with any certainty have
asserted that He went to Jerusalem during his public life, until His time
was come to be delivered up. They do not, it is true, exclude such a
supposition, but rather perhaps imply it (see Matt, xxiii. 37 ; xxvii. 57,
and parallels ; also Matt. iv. 12 as compared with iv. 25, — Matt. viii. 10,
xvi. 1); it could not however have been gathered from their narrative
with any historical precision.

3. If we now turn to the fourth Gospel, we find this deficiency
remarkably supplied. The various occasions on which our Lord went
up to Jerusalem are specified ; not indeed with any precision of date or
sequence, but mainly for the purpose of relating the discourses and
miracles by which they were signalized.

4. But the difference in character between the three first Evangelists
and the fourth is even more striking. While their employment (with
the sole exception, and that almost exclusively in Matthew, of the
application of Old Testament prophecies to events in the life of our
Lord) is narration without comment, the fourth Evangelist speaks with
dogmatic authority, and delivers his historical testimony as from the
chair of an Apostle. In no place do they claim the high authority of eye-
witnesses ; nay, in the preface to St. Luke's Gospel, while he vindicates
his diligent care in tracing down the course of events from the first, he

* An exception to this apparently occurs, if we adopt the remarkable reading
"Judva," Luke iv. 44. But it is hardly to be pressed, especially as it does not imply
any journey to the capital.

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

implicitly disclaims such authority. This claim is, however, advanced in
direct terms by St. John (see below, ch. v. § ii. 1). Again, in the
character of our LoroVs discourses, reported by the Three, we have the
same distinctness. While His sayings and parables in their Gospels
' almost exclusively have reference to His dealings with us, and the nature
of His kingdom among men, those related by St John regard, as well,
the deeper subjects of His own essential attributes and covenant purposes;
referring indeed often and directly to His relations with His people and
the unbelieving world, but usually as illustrating those attributes, and
the unfolding of those purposes. That there are exceptions to this (see
e. g. Matt xi. 27 : Luke x. 22) is only to be expected from that merci-
ful condescension by which God, in giving us the Gospel records through
the different media of individual minds and apprehensions, has yet fur-
nished us with enough common features in them all, to satisfy us of the
unity and truthfulness of their testimony to His blessed Son.

5. Reserving further remarks on the character of St John's Gospel for
their proper place, I further notice that the three, in their nana t ion of
our Lord's ministry, proceed in the main upon a common outline. This
outline is variously filled up, and variously interrupted ; but is still easily
to be traced, as running through the middle and largest section of each
of their Gospels.

6. Besides this large portion, each Gospel contains some prefatory
matter regarding the time before the commencement of the Ministry, —
a detailed history of the Passion, — fragmentary notices of the Resur-
rection, and a conclusion. These will be separately treated of and
compared in the following sections, and more at large in the Corn-
men tary.

SECTION II.

THEIR INDEPENDENCE OF ONE ANOTHER.

1. Having these three accounts of one and the same Life and
Ministry of our Lord, it is an important enquiry for us, how far they
may be considered as distinct narratives, — how far as borrowed one from
another. It is obvious that this enquiry can only, in the absence of any
direct historical testimony, be conducted by careful examination of their
contents. Such examination however has conducted enquirers to the
most various and inconsistent results. Different hypotheses of the
mutual interdependence of the three have been made, embracing every
possible permutation of their order*. To support these hypotheses,

8 1. That Matthew wrote first— that Mark used his Gospel—and then Luke both
these. This is held by Grotius, Mill, Wetstein, Townson, Hug, &c, and Greswell, who

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§ ii.] INDEPENDENCE OF ONE ANOTHER, [introduction.

the same phenomena have been curiously and variously interpreted.
What, in one writer's view, has been a deficiency in one Evangelist
which another has supplied, — has been, in that of a second writer, a
condensation on the part of the one Evangelist of the full account of
the other ; — while a third writer again has seen in the fuller account
the more minute depicting of later tradition.

2. Let us, however, observe the evidence furnished by the Gospels
themselves. Each of the sacred Historians is, we may presume, anxious
to give his readers an accurate and consistent account of the great
events of Redemption. On either of the above hypotheses, two of them
respectively sit down to their work with one, or two, of our present nar-
ratives before them. We are reduced then to adopt one or other- of the
following suppositions : Either, (a) they found those other Gospels in-
sufficient, and were anxious to supply what was wanting; or, (b) they
believed them to be erroneous, and purposed to correct what was inac-
curate ; or, (c) they wished to adapt their contents to a different class of
readers, incorporating at the same time whatever additional matter they
possessed ; or (d) receiving them as authentic, they borrowed from them
such parts as they purposed to relate in common with them.

3. There is but one other supposition, which is plainly out of the
range of probability, and which I should not have stated, were it not the
only one, on the hypothesis of mutual dependency, which will give any
account of, or be consistent with, the various minute discrepancies of
arrangement and narration which we find in the Gospels. It is (e) that
(see last paragraph) they fraudulently plagiarized from them, slightly
disguising the common matter so as to make it appear their own. One
man wishing to publish the matter of another's work as his own, may be
conceived as altering its arrangement and minutiae, to destroy its dis-
tinctive character. But how utterly inapplicable is any such view to
either of our three Evangelists ! And even supposing it for a moment
entertained, — how imperfectly and anomalously are the changes made,
— and how little would they be likely to answer their purpose !

4. Let us consider the others in order. If (a) was the case, / main-
tain that no possible arrangement of our Gospels will suit its require-
ments. Let the reader refer to the last note, and follow me through its
divisions. (1), (2), (5), (6) are clearly out of the question, because

advances, and sometimes maintains with considerable ingenuity, the hypothesis of a
supplemental relation of the three taken in order.

2. Matthew, Luke, Mark.— So Griesbach, Fritzsche, Meyer, De Wette, and others.

3. Mark, Matthew, Luke.— So Storr and others, and recently, Mr. Smith of Jordan-
hill.

4. Mark, Luke, Matthew.— So Weisse, Wilke, Hitzig, &c.

5. Luke, Matthew, Mark.— So Btisching and Evanson.

6. Luke, Mark, Matthew.— So Vogei.

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

the shorter Gospel of St. Mark follows upon the fuller one of St. Matthew,
or St. Luke, or both. We have then only to examine those in which
St. Mark stands first. Either then St. Luke supplemented St. Matthew,
— or St. Matthew, St. Luke. But first, both of these are inconceivable
as being expansions of St. Mark ; for his Gospel, although shorter, and
narrating fewer events and discourses, is, in those which he does narrate,
the fullest and most particular of the three. And again, St. Luke could
not have supplemented St. Matthew ; for there are most important
portions of Matthew which he has altogether omitted (e. g. ch.
xxv. much of ch. xiii. ch. xv.) ; — nor could St. Matthew have sup-
plemented St. Luke, for the same reason, having omitted almost all
of the important section, Luke ix. 51 — xviii. 15, besides very much
matter in other parts. I may also mention that this supposition leaves
all the difficulties of different arrangement and minute discrepancy
unaccounted for.

5. We pass to (b), on which much need not be said. If it were so,
nothing could have been done less calculated to answer the end9 than that
which our Evangelists have done. For in no material point do their
accounts differ, but only in arrangement and completeness ; — and this
latter difference is such, that no one of them can be cited as taking any
pains to make it appear that his own arrangement is chronologically
accurate. No fixed dates are found in those parts where the differences
exist ; no word to indicate that any other arrangement had ever been
published. Does this look like the work of a corrector? Even sup-
posing him to have suppressed the charge of inaccuracy on others, —
would he not have been precise and definite in the parts where his own
corrections appeared, if it were merely to justify them to his readers ?

6. Neither does the supposition represented by (c) in any way ac-
count for the phaenomena of our present Gospels. For, — even taking
for granted the usual assumption, that St. Matthew wrote for Hebrew
Christians, St. Mark for Latins, and St. Luke for Gentiles in general,— we
do not find any such consistency in these purposes, as a revision and
alteration of another's narrative would necessarily presuppose. We
have the visit of the Gentile Magi exclusively related by the Hebraizing
Matthew; — the circumcision of the child Jesus, and His frequenting
the passovers at Jerusalem, exclusively by the Gentile Evangelist Luke.
Had the above purposes been steadily kept in view in the revision
of the narratives before them, the respective Evangelists could not have
omitted incidents so entirely subservient to their respective designs.

7. Our supposition (d) is, that receiving the Gospel or Gospels before
them as authentic, the Evangelists borrowed from them such parts as
they purposed to narrate in common with them. But this does not
represent the matter of fact. In no one case does any Evangelist borrow
from another any considerable part of even a single narrative. For

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§ ii.] INDEPENDENCE OF ONE ANOTHER, [introduction

such borrowing would imply verbal coincidence, unless in the case of
strong Hebraistic idiom, or other assignable peculiarity. It is incon-
ceivable that one writer borrowing from another matter confessedly of
the very first importance, in good faith and with approval, should alter
his diction so singularly and capriciously as, on this hypothesis, we find
the text of the parallel sections of our Gospels altered. Let the ques-
tion be answered by ordinary considerations of probability, and let any
passage common to the three Evangelists be put to the test. The
phenomena presented will be much as follows: — first, perhaps, we shall
have three, five, or more words identical; — then as many wholly distinct:
then two clauses or more, expressed in the same words but differing
order: — then a clause contained in one or two, and not in the third: —
then several words identical: — then a clause not only wholly distinct
but apparently inconsistent; — and so forth ; — with recurrences of the
same arbitrary and anomalous alterations, coincidences, and transposi-
tions. Nor does this description apply to verbal and sentential arrange-
ment only; — but also, with slight modification, to that of the larger
portions of the narratives. Equally capricious would be the disposition
of the subject-matter. Sometimes, while coincident in the things
related, the Gospels place them in the most various order, — each in turn
connecting them together with apparent marks of chronological se-
quence (e. g. the visit to Gadara in Matt. viii. 28 ff. as compared with
the same in Mark v. 1 ff. Luke viii. 26 ff. and numerous other such
instances noticed in the commentary). Let any one say, divesting
himself of the commonly-received hypotheses respecting the connexion
and order of our Gospels, whether it is within the range of probability
that a writer should thus singularly and unreasonably alter the subject-
matter and diction before him, having (as is now supposed) no design
in so doing, but intending, fairly and with approval, to incorporate the
work of another into his own ? Can an instance be any where cited of
undoubted borrowing and adaptation from another, presenting similar
phenomena ?

8. I cannot then find in any of the above hypotheses a solution of
the question before us, how the appearances presented by our three
Gospels are to be accounted for. I do not see how any theory of mutual
interdependence will leave to our three Evangelists their credit as able
or trnsttvorthy writers, or even as honest men : nor can I find any such
theory borne out by the nature of the variations apparent in the respec-
tive texts.

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

SECTION III.

THE ORIGIN OF OUR THREE GOSPELS.

1. It remains then, that the three Gospels should have arisen inde-
pendently of one another. But supposing this, we are at once met by
the difficulty of accounting for so much common matter, and that nar-
rated, as we have seen, with such curious verbal agreements and dis-
crepancies. Thus we are driven to some common origin for those parts.
But of what kind ? Plainly, either documentary (i. e. contained in
writings), or oral. Let us consider each of these in turn.

2. No documentary source could have led to the present texts of our
Gospels. For supposing it to have been in the Hebrew language (or
Aramaic, the dialect of Palestine at the time), and thus accounting for
some of the variations in our parallel Greek passages, as being independent
translations, — we shall still have no solution whatever of the more im-
portant discrepancies of insertion, omission, and arrangement. _ To meet
these, the most complicated hypotheses have been advanced, — all per-
fectly capricious, and utterly inadequate, even when apprehended, to
account for the phenomena. The various opponents of the view of an
original Gospel have well shewn besides, that such a Gospel could never
have existed, because of the omission in one or other of our three, of
passages which must necessarily have formed a part of it ; e. g. Matt,
xxvi. 6 — 13 {see there) omitted by St. Luke*. I believe then that we
may safely abandon the idea of any single original Gospel, whether
Aramaic or Greek.

3. Still it might be thought possible that, though one document cannot
have originated the text of the common parts of our Gospels, several
documents, more or less related to one another, may have done so, in the
absence of any original Gospel. But this, it will be seen, is but an
imperfect analysis of their origin ; for we are again met by the question,
whence did these documents take their rise? And if they turn out to be
only so many modifications of a received oral teaching respecting the
actions and sayings of our Lord, then to that oral teaching are we

* Those who maintain the anointing of Matt. xxvi. 6 to be the same with that of Luke
vii. 36, forget that it is incumbent on them in such cases to shew sufficient reason for
the inversion in order of time. It is no reply to my argument, to say that St. Luke
omits the anointing at Bethany, because he had related it before in ch. vii. Had he
not had St. Matthew's Gospel before him, it is very likely that he may have inserted
an incident which he found without date, in a place where it might illustrate the want
of charity of a Pharisee ; but having (on their hypothesis) St. Matthew's Gospel before
him, and the incident being there related in strict sequence and connexion with our
Lord's Death, it is simply inconceivable that he should have transposed it, and oblite-
rated all trace of such connexion, deeply interesting and important as it is.

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§ m.] THEIE ORIGIN. [introduction.

referred back for a more complete account of the matter. That such
evangelical documents did exist, I think highly probable ; and believe
I recognize such in some of the peculiar sections of Luke ; but that the
common parts of our Gospels, even if taken from such, are to be traced
back further, I am firmly convinced.

4. We come then to enquire, whether the common sections of our
Gospels could have originated from a common oral source. If by this
latter is to be understood, — one and the same oral teaching every where
recognized, our answer must be in the negative : for the difficulties of
verbal discrepancy, varying arrangement, insertion, and omission, would,
as above, remain unaccounted for. At the same time, it is highly impro-
bable that such a course of oi-al teaching should ever have been adopted.
Let us examine the matter more in detail.

5. The Apostles were witnesses of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
In this consisted their especial office and work. Others besides them
had been companions of our Lord : — but peculiar grace and power was
given to them, by which they gave forth their testimony (Acts iv. 33).
And what this testimony included, we learn from the conditions of
apostleship propounded by Peter himself, Acts i. 21, 22: that in order
to its being properly given, an Apostle must have been an eye and ear
witness of what had happened from the baptism of John until the ascen-
sion : i. e. during the whole official life of our Lord. With the whole of
this matter, therefore, was his apostolic testimony concerned. And we
are consequently justified in assuming that the substance of the teaching
of the Apostles consisted of their testimony to such facts, given in the
Holy Ghost and with power. The ordinary objection to this view, that
their extant discourses do not contain Evangelic narrations, but are
hortatory and persuasive, is wholly inapplicable. Their extant discourses
are contained in the Acts, a second work of the Evangelist Luke, who
having in his former treatise given all which he had been able to collect
of their narrative teaching, was not likely again to repeat it. Besides
which, such narrative teaching would occur, not in general and almost
wholly apologetic discourses held before assembled unbelievers, but in
the building up of the several churches and individual converts, and in
the catechization of catechumens. It is a strong confirmation of this
view, that Luke himself in his preface refers to this original apostolic
narrative as the source of the various narrations, which many had taken
in hand to draw up, and states his object in writing to be, that Theo-
philus might know the certainty of those sayings concerning which he had
been catechized.

Jt is another confirmation of the above view of the testimony of the
apostolic body, — that St. Paul claims to have received an independent
knowledge, by direct revelation, of at least some of the fundamental parts
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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

of the Gospel history (see Gal. i. 12 : 1 Cor. xi. 23; xv. 3), to qualify
him for his calling as an Apostle.

6. I believe then that the Apostles, in virtue not merely of their
having been eye and ear witnesses of the Evangelic history, but espe-
cially of their office, gave to the various Churches their testimony in
a narrative of facts: such narrative being modified in each case by the
individual mind of the Apostle himself, and his sense of what was
requisite for the particular community to which he was ministering.
While they were principally together, and instructing the converts at
Jerusalem, such narrative would naturally be for the most part the same,
and expressed in the same, or nearly the same words : coincident, how-
ever, not from design or rule, but because the things themselves were the
same, and the teaching naturally fell for the most part into one form.
It would be easy and interesting to follow the probable origin and
growth of this cycle of narratives of the words and deeds of our Lord in
the Church at Jerusalem, — for both the Jews, and the Hellenists, — the
latter under such teachers as Philip and Stephen, commissioned and
authenticated by the Apostles. In the course of such a process some
portions would naturally be written down by private believers, for their
own use or that of friends. And as the Church spread to Samaria,
Caesarea, and Antioch, the want would be felt in each of these places,
of similar cycles of oral teaching, which when supplied would thence-
forward belong to and be current in those respective Churches. And
these portions of the Evangelic history, oral or partially documentary,
would be adopted under the sanction of the Apostles, who were as in all
things so especially in this, the appointed and divinely-guided overseers
of the whole Church. This common substratum of apostolic teaching, —
never formally adopted by all, but subject to all the varieties of diction
and arrangement, addition and omission, incident to transmission
through many individual minds, and into many different localities, — /
believe to have been the original source of the common part of our three
Gospels.

7. Whether this teaching was wholly or in part expressed originally
in Greek, may admit of some question. That it would very soon be so
expressed, follows as a matter of course from the early mention of Grecian
converts, Acts vi., and the subsequent reception of the Gentiles into the
Church ; and it seems to have been generally received in that language,
before any of its material modifications arose. This I gather from the
remarkable verbal coincidences observable in the present Greek texts.
Then again, the verbal discrepancies of our present Greek texts entirely
forbid us to imagine that our Evangelists took up the usual oral teaching
at one place or time ; but point to a process of alteration and deflection,
which will now engage our attention.

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§ m.] THEIR ORIGIN. [introduction.

8. It will be observed that I am now speaking of those sections which
our Gospels possess in common, and without reference to their
order. The larger additions, which are due to peculiar sources of
information, — the narratives of the same event which have not sprung
from a common source, — the different arrangement of the common sec-
tions, with all these I am not now concerned.

9. The matter then of those sections I believe to have been this
generally-received oral narrative of the Apostles of which I have spoken.
Delivered; usually in the same or similar terms, to the catechumens in
the various Churches, and becoming the text of instruction for their
pastors and teachers, it by degrees underwent those modifications which
the various Gospels now present to us. Am} I am not now speaking of
any considerable length of time, such as might suffice to deteriorate and
corrupt mere traditional teaching, — but of no more than the trans-
mission through men apostolic or almost apostolic, yet of independent
habits of speech and thought,— of an account which remained in sub-
stance the same. Let us imagine the modifications which the individual
memory, brooding affectionately and reverently over each word and act
of our Lord, would introduce into a narrative in relating it variously and
under differing circumstances : — the Holy Spirit who brought to their
remembrance whatever things He had said to them (John xiv. 26),
working in and distributing to each severally as He would ; — let us place
to the account the various little changes of transposition or omission, of
variation in diction or emphasis, which would be sure to arise in the
freedom of individual teaching, — and we have I believe the only reason-
able solution of the arbitrary and otherwise unaccountable coincidences
and discrepancies in these parts of our Gospels.

10. It might perhaps be required that some presumptive corroborations
should be given of such a supposition as that here advanced. For the
materials of such, we must look into the texts themselves of such sections.
And in them I think I see signs of such a process as the latter part of
paragraph 9 describes. For,

11. It is a well-known and natural effect of oral transmission, that
while the less prominent members of a sentence are transposed, or dimi-
nished or increased in number, and common-place expressions replaced by
their synonymes, any unusual word, or harsh expression, or remarkable
construction is retailed. Nor is this only the case, such words, expres-
sions, or constructions, preserving their relative places in the sentences,
— but, from the mind laying hold of them, and retaining them at all
events, they are sometimes found preserved near their original places,
though perhaps with altered relations and import. Now a careful
observation of the original text of the Gospels continually brings before
the reader instances of both of these. I have given a few of them in a
note to this portion of the Introductory matter in my Greek Testament.

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inteoduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

12. With regard to those parts of our Gospels which do not fall under
the above remarks, there are various conceivable sources whence they
may have arisen. As each Evangelist may have had more or less access
to those who were themselves witnesses of the events, whether before or
during the public ministry of our Lord, or as each may have fallen in
with a more complete or a shorter account of those events, so have our
narratives been filled out with rich detail, or confined to the mere state-
ment pf occurrences : — so have they been copious and entire in their
history, or have merely taken up and handed down a portion of our
Lord's life. These particulars wnl come under our notice below, when
we treat of each Gospel by itself.

13. The above view has been impugned by Mr. Birks (Horae Evan-
gelical, &c. Lond. 1852), and Mr. Smith of Jordanhill (Dissertation
on the Origin and Connexion of the Gospels : Edinb. 1853). While
maintaining different hypotheses, both agree in regarding ( oral tradition '
as quite insufficient to account for the phenomena of approximation to
identity which are found in the Gospels. But both, as it seems to me,
have forgotten to take into account the peculiar kind of oral tradition
with which we are here concerned. Both concur in insisting on the
many variations and corruptions to which oral transmission is liable, as
an objection to my hypothesis. But we have here a case in this respect
exceptional and of its own kind. The oral tradition (or rather oral
teaching) with which we are concerned, formed the substance .of a
deliberate and careful testimony to facts of the highest possible import-
ance, and as such, was inculcated in daily catechization : whereas com-
mon oral tradition is careless and vague, not being similarly guarded, nor
diffused as matter of earnest instruction. Besides which, these writers
forget, that I have maintained the probability of a very early collection
of portions of such oral teaching into documents, some of which two or
even three Evangelists may have used ; and these documents or narra-
tions, in some cases drawn up after the first minute verbal divergences
had taken place, or beiug translations from common Aramaic sources,
would furnish many of the phenomena which Mr. Smith so ingeniously
illustrates from translation in modern historians and newspapers. I
have found reason to infer that St. Luke was acquainted with Hebrew ;
and he would therefore be an independent translator, as well as the other
two Evangelists.

14. For the sake of guarding against misunderstanding, it may be
well formally to state the conclusion at which I have arrived respecting
the origin of our three first Gospels : in which, I may add, I have been
much confirmed by the results of many years' study of the sacred text
since it was first published :

That the Three first Gospels contain the substance of the Apostles'
testimony, collected principally from their oral teaching current in the
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§ iv.] THEIR DISCREPANCIES. [introduction.

Churchy —partly also from written documents embodying portions of that
teaching: that there is however no reason from their internal structure to
believe, but every reason to disbelieve, that any one of the three Evange-
lists had access to either of the other two Gospels in its present form.

SECTION IV.

THE DISCREPANCIES, APPARENT AND REAL, OP THE THREE GOSPELS.

1. In our Three Narratives, many events and sayings do not hold the
same relative place in one as in another : and hence difficulties have
arisen, and the faith of some has been weakened ; while the adversaries
of our religion have made the most of these differences to impugn the
veracity of the writers themselves. And hence also Christian commen-
tators have been driven to a system of harmonizing which condescends
to adopt the weakest compromises, and to do the utmost violence to
probability and fairness, in its zeal for the veracity of the Evangelists.
It becomes important therefore critically to discriminate between real
and apparent discrepancy, and while with all fairness we acknowledge
the former where it exists, to lay down certain common-sense rules
whereby the latter may be also ascertained.

2. The real discrepancies between our Evangelistic histories are very
few, and those Dearly all of one kind. They are simply the results
of the entire independence of the accounts. They consist mainly in
different chronological arrangements, expressed or implied. Such for
instance is the transposition, before noticed, of the history of the passage
into the country of the Gadarenes, which in Matt viii. 28 ff. precedes
a whole course of events which in Mark v. Iff.: Luke viii. 26 ff. it
follows. Such again is the difference in position between the pair of
incidents related Matt. viii. 19 — 22, and the same pair of incidents
found in Luke ix. 57 — 61. And such are some other varieties of
arrangement and position, which will be brought before the readers of
the following Commentary. Now the way of dealing with such discre-
pancies has been twofold, — as remarked above. The enemies of the faith
have of course recognized them, and pushed them to the utmost ; often
attempting to create them where they do not exist, and where they do,
using them to overthrow the narrative in which they occur. While this
has been their course,— equally unworthy of the Evangelists and their
subject has been that of those who are usually thought the orthodox
Harmonists. They have usually taken upon them to state, that such
variously placed narratives do not refer to the same incidents, and so to
save (as they imagine) the credit of the Evangelists, at the expense of
common fairness and candour. Who, for example, can for a moment

Vol. I.— 17] b

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [en. i.

doubt that the pairs of incidents above cited from St Matthew and St.
Luke are identical with each other ? What man can ever suppose that
the same offer would have been, not merely twice made to our Lord in
the same words and similarly answered by Him (for this is very possible),
but actually followed in both cases by a request from another disciple,
couched also in the very same words ? The reiterated sequence of the
two is absolutely out of all bounds of probability : — and yet it is sup-
posed and maintained by one of the ablest of our modern Harmonists.
And this is only one specimen out of very many of the same kind,
notices of which may be seen in the following Commentary.

3. The fair Christian critic will pursue a plan different from both
these. With no desire to create discrepancies, but rather every desire
truthfully and justly to solve them, if it may be, — he will candidly
recognize them where they unquestionably exist. By this he loses
nothing, and the Evangelists lose nothing. That one great and glorious
portrait of our Lord should be harmoniously depicted by them, — that
the procession of events by which our redemption is assured to us should
be one and the same in all, — is surely more wonderful, and more plainly
the work of God's Holy Spirit, the more entirely independent of each
other they must be inferred to have been. Variation in detail and
arrangement is to my mind the most valuable proof that they were, not
mere mouthpieces or organs of the Holy Spirit, as some would suicidally
make them, but holy men, under His inspiration. I shall treat of this
part of our subject more at length below (in § vi.): — I mention it now,
to shew that we need not be afraid to recognize real discrepancies, in the
spirit of fairness and truth. Christianity never was, and never can be
the gainer, by any concealment, warping, or avoidance of the plain truth,
wherever it is to be found.

4. On the other hand, the Christian critic will fairly discriminate
between real and apparent discrepancy. And in order to this, some rules
must be laid down by which the limits of each may be determined.

5. Similar incidents must not be too hastily assumed to be the same. If
one Evangelist had given us the feeding of thej£v« thousand, and another
that of the four, we should have been strongly tempted to pronounce the
incidents the same, and to find a discrepancy in the accounts : — but our
conclusion would have been false : — for we have now both events narrated
by each of two Evangelists (St. Matthew and St Mark), and formally
alluded to by our Lord Himself in connexion. (Matt. xvi. 9, 10. Mark viii.
19, 20.) And there are several narrations now in our Gospels, the identi-
fication of which must be abstained from ; e.g. the anointing of our Lord
by the woman who was a sinner, Luke vii. 36 ff., and that at Bethany by
Mary the sister of Lazarus, in Matt. xxvi. 6 ff. : Mark xiv. 3 ff. : John
xi. 2 ; xii. 3 ff. In such cases we must judge fairly and according to
probability, — not making trifling differences in diction or narrative into

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§ v.] THEIR FRAGMENTARY NATURE, [introduction.

important reasons why the incidents should be different j — but rather
examining critically the features of the incidents themselves, and
discerning and determining upon the evidence furnished by them.

6. The circumstances and nature of our LoroVe discourses must be taken
into account Judging a priori, the probability is, that He repeated most
of His important sayings many times over, with more or less variation, to
different audiences, but in the hearing of the same apostolic witnesses. If
now these witnesses by their independent narratives have originated our
present Gospels, what can be more likely than that these sayings should
have found their way into the Gospels in various forms, — sometimes, as
especially in Matthew, in long and strictly coherent discourses, — some-
times scattered up and down, as is the matter of several of Matthew's
discourses in Luke ? Yet such various reports of our Lord's sayings are
most unreasonably by some of the modern German critics (e.g. De Wette)
treated as discrepancies, and used to prove St. Matthew's discourses
to have been mere combinations of shorter sayings uttered at different
times. A striking instance of the repetition by our Lord of similar dis-
courses, varied according to the time and the hearers, may be found in
the denunciations on the Scribes and Pharisees as uttered during the
journey to Jerusalem, Luke xi. 37 ff., and the subsequent solemn and
public reiteration of them in Jerusalem at the final close of the Lord's
ministry in Matt, xxiii. Compare also the parable of the pounds, Luke
xix. 11 ff., with that of the talents, Matt. xxv. 14 ff, and in fact the
whole of the discourses during the last journey in Luke, with their
parallels, where such exist, in Matthew.

SECTION V.

THE FRAGMENTARY NATURE OF THE THREE GOSPELS.

1. On any hypothesis which attributes to our Evangelists the design
of producing a complete history of the life and actions of our Lord, and
gives two of them the advantage of consulting other records of the same
kind with their own, — the omissions in their histories are perfectly inex-
plicable. For example, — St. Matthew, as an Apostle, was himself an
eye-witness of the Ascension, an event holding a most important place
in the divine process of the redemption of man. Yet he omits all record
or mention of it. And though this is the most striking example, others
are continually occurring throughout the Three Gospels. Why has there
been no mention in them of the most notable miracle wrought by our
Lord, — which indeed, humanly speaking, was the final exciting cause of
that active enmity of the Jewish rulers which issued in His crucifixion ?
Can it be believed, that an Apostle, writing in the fulness of his know-
19] b 2

introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

ledge as such, and with the design of presenting to his readers Jesus of
Nazareth as the promised Messiah, — should have omitted all mention of
the raising of Lazarus, — and of the subsequent prophecy of Caiaphas,
whereby that Messiahship was so strongly recognized ? The ordinary
supposition, of silence being maintained for prudential reasons concerning
Lazarus and his family, is quite beside the purpose. For the sacred
books of the Christians were not published to the world in general, but
were reserved and precious possessions of the believing societies : and
even had this been otherwise, such concealment was wholly alien from
their spirit and character.

2. The absence of completeness from our Gospels is even more
strikingly shewn in their minor omissions, which cannot on any sup-
position be accounted for, if their authors had possessed records of the
incidents so omitted. Only in the case of St. Luke does there appear to
have been any design of giving a regular account of things throughout :
and from his many omissions of important matter contained in Matthew,
it is plain that his sources of information were, though copious, yet
fragmentary. For, assuming what has been above inferred as to the
independence of our three Evangelists, it is inconceivable that St. Luke,
with his avowed design of completeness, ch. i. 3, should have been in
possession of matter so important as that contained in those parts of
Matthew, and should deliberately have excluded it from -his Gospel.

3. The Gospel of St. Mark, — excluding from that term the venerable
and authentic fragment at the end of ch. xvi., — terminates abruptly in
the midst of the narrative of incidents connected with the resurrection of
our Lord. And, with the exception of the short prefatory compendium,
ch. i. 1 — 13, there is no reason for supposing this Evangelist to be an
abbreviator, in any sense, of the matter before him. His sources of
information were of the very highest order, and his descriptions and
narratives are most life-like and copious ; but they were confined within
a certain cycle of apostolic teaching, viz. that which concerned the
official life of our Lord : and in that cycle not complete, inasmuch as he
breaks off short of the Ascension, which another Evangelistic hand has
added from apostolic sources.

SECTION VI.

THE INSPIRATION OF THE EVANGELISTS AND OTHER N. T. WRITERS.

1. The results of our enquiries hitherto may be thus stated : — That
our Three Gospels have arisen independently of one another, from
sources of information possessed by the Evangelists : — such sources of
information, for a very considerable part of their contents, being the
narrative teaching of the Apostles ; and, in cases where their personal
20]

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§ vi.] THEIR INSPIRATION. [introduction.

testimony was out of the question, oral or documentary narratives, pre-
served in and received by the Christian Church in the apostolic age ; —
that the Three Gospels are not formal complete accounts of the whole
incidents of the sacred history, but each of them fragmentary, containing
such portions of it as fell within the notice, or the special design, of the
Evangelist.

2. The important question now comes' before us, In what sense are the
Evangelists to be regarded as having been inspired by the Holy Spirit of
God? That they were so, in some sense, has been the concurrent belief
of the Christian body in all ages. In the second, as in the nineteenth
century, the ultimate appeal, in matters of fact and doctrine, has been
to these venerable writings. It may be well, then, first to enquire on
what grounds their authority has been rated so high by all Christians.

3. And I believe the answer to this question will be found to be,
Because they are regarded as authentic documents, descending from the
apostolic age, and presenting to us the substance of the apostolic testimony.
The Apostles being raised up for the special purpose of witnessing to
the Gospel history, — and these memoirs having been universally received
in the early Church as embodying that their testimony, I see no escape
left from the inference, that they come to us with inspired authority.
The Apostles themselves, and their contemporaries in the ministry of
the Word, were singularly endowed with the Holy Spirit for the founding
and teaching of the Church : and Christians of all ages have accepted the
Gospels and other writings of the New Testament as the written result
of the Pentecostal effusion. The early Church was not likely to be
deceived in this ' matter. The reception of the Gospels was immediate
and universal. They never were placed for a moment by the consent of
Christians in the same category with the spurious documents which soon
sprung up after them. In external history, as in internal character, they
differ entirely from the apocryphal Gospels ; which, though in some cases
bearing the name and pretending to contain the teaching of an Apostle,
were never recognized as apostolic.

4. Upon the authenticity, i. e. the apostolicity of our Gospels, rests
their claim to inspiration. Containing the substance of the Apostles'
testimony, they carry with them that special power of the Holy Spirit
which rested on the Apostles in virtue of their office, and also on other
teachers and preachers of the first age. It may be well, then, to enquire
of what kind that power was, and how far extending.

5. We do not find the Apostles transformed, from being men of indi-
vidual character and thought and feeling, into mere channels for the
transmission of infallible truth. We find them, humanly speaking, to
have been still distinguished by the same characteristics as before the
descent of the Holy Ghost. We see Peter still ardent and impetuous,

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

still shrinking from the danger of human disapproval ; — we see John
still exhibiting the same union of deep love and burning zeal ; — we find
them pursuing different paths of teaching, exhibiting different styles of
writing, taking hold of the truth from different sides.

6. Again, we do not find the Apostles put in possession at once of the
divine counsel with regard to the Church. Though Peter and John
were full of the Holy Ghost immediately after the Ascension, neither
at that time, nor for many years afterwards, were they put in possession
of the purpose of God regarding the Gentiles, which in due time was
specially revealed to Peter, and recognized in the apostolic council at
Jerusalem.

7. These considerations serve to shew us in what respects the working
of the Holy Spirit on the sacred writers was analogous to His influence
on every believer in Christ ; viz. in the retention of individual character
and thought and feeling, — and in the gradual development of the ways
and purposes of God to their minds.

8. But their situation and office was peculiar and unexampled. And
for its fulfilment, peculiar and unexampled gifts were bestowed upon
them. One of these, which bears very closely upon our present subject,
was, the recalling by the Holy Spirit of those things which the Lord had
said to them. This was His own formal promise, recorded in John xiv.
26. And if we look at our present Gospels, we see abundant evidence
of its fulfilment. What unassisted human memory could treasure up
saying and parable, however deep the impression at the time, and report
them in full at the distance of several years, as we find them reported,
with every internal mark of truthfulness, in our Gospels ? What in-
vention of man ootid have devised discourses which by common consent
differ from all sayings of men — which possess this character unaltered,
notwithstanding their transmission through men of various mental
organization — which contain things impossible to be understood or appre-
ciated by their reporters at the time when they profess to have been
uttered — which enwrap the seeds of all human improvement yet attained,
and are evidently full of power for more ? I refer to this latter alter-
native, only to remark that all considerations, whether of the Apostles'
external circumstances, or their internal feelings respecting Him of
whom they bore witness, combine to confirm the persuasion of Chris-
tians, that they have recorded as said by our Lord what He truly did sayf
and not any words of their own imagination.

9. And let us pursue the matter further by analogy. Can we suppose
that the light poured by the Holy Spirit upon the sayings of our Lord
would be confined to such sayings, and not extend itself over the other
parts of the narrative of His life on earth ? Can we believe that those
miracles, which though not uttered in words, were yet acted parablesf

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§ vi.] THEIR INSPIRATION. [introduction.

would not be, under the same gracious assistance, brought back to the
minds of the Apostles, so that they should be placed on record for the
teaching of the Church ?

10. And, going yet further, to those parts of the Gospels which were
wholly out of the cycle of the Apostles' own testimony, — can we imagine
that the divine discrimination which enabled them to detect the ' lie to
the Holy Ghost,' should have forsaken them in judging of the records of
our Lord's birth and infancy, — so that they should have taught or sanc-
tioned an apocryphal, fabulous, or mythical account of such matters ?
Some account of them must have been current in the apostolic circle ? for
Mary the mother of Jesus survived the Ascension, and would be fully
capable of giving undoubted testimony to the facts. (See notes on Luke
i. ii.) Can we conceive then that, with her among them, the Apostles
should have delivered other than a true history of these things ? Can we
suppose that St Luke's account, which he includes among the things
delivered by those who were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word from
the first, is other than the true one, and stamped with the authority of
the witnessing and discriminating Spirit dwelling in the Apostles ? Can
we suppose that the account in the still more immediately apostolic
Gospel of St. Matthew is other than the same history seen from a
different side and independently narrated ?

11. But if it be enquired, how far such divine superintendence has
extended in the framing of our Gospels as we at present find them, the
answer must be furnished by no preconceived idea of what ought to have
been, but by the contents of the Gospels themselves. That those contents
are various, and variously arranged, is token enough that in their selec-
tion and disposition we have human agency presented to us, under no
more direct divine guidance, in this respect, than that general leading,
which in main and essential points should ensure entire accordance.
Such leading admits of much variety in points of minor consequence.
Two men may be equally led by the Holy Spirit to record the events of
our Lord's life for our edification, though one may believe and record
that the visit to the Gadarenes took place before the calling of Matthew,
while the other places it after that event ; though one in narrating it
speaks of two demoniacs, — the other, only- of one.

12. And it is observable, that in the only place in the Three Gospels
where an Evangelist speaks of himself, he expressly lays claim, not to
any supernatural guidance in the arrangement of his subject-matter,
but to a diligent tracing down of all things from the first ; in other
words, to the care and accuracy of a faithful and honest compiler. After
such an avowal on the part of the editor himself, to assert an immediate
revelation to him of the arrangement to be adopted and the chronological
notices to be given, is clearly not justified, according to his own shewing

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

and assertion '. The value of such arrangement and chronological con-
nexion must depend on various circumstances in each case : — on their
dehniteness and consistency,— on their agreement or disagreement with
the other extant records ; the preference being in each case given to
that one whose account is the most minute in details, and whose notes of
sequence are the most distinct.

13. In thus speaking, I am doing no more than even the most scru-
pulous of our Harmonizers have in fact done. In the case alluded to in
paragraph 11, there is not one of them who has not altered the arrange-
ment, either of Matthew, or of Mark and Luke, so as to bring the visit
to the Gadarenes into the same part of the Evangelic History. But,
if the arrangement itself were matter of divine inspiration, then have we
no right to vary it in the slightest degree, but must maintain (as the
Harmonists have done in other cases, but never, that I am aware, in this)
two distinct visits to have been made at different times, and nearly the same
events to have occurred at both. I need hardly add that a similar method
of proceeding with all the variations in the Gospels, which would on this
supposition be necessary, would render the Scripture narrative a heap of
improbabilities ; and strengthen, instead of weakening, the cause of the
enemies of our faith.

14. And not only of the arrangement of the Evangelic History are
these remarks to be understood. There are certain minor points of
accuracy or inaccuracy, of which human research suffices to inform men,
and on which, from want of that research, it is often the practice to
speak vaguely and inexactly. Such are sometimes the conventionally
received distances from place to place ; such are the common accounts
of phenomena in natural history, &c. Now, in matters of this kind, the
Evangelists and Apostles were not supernaturally informed, but left, in
common with others, to the guidance of their natural faculties.

15. The same may be said of citations and dates from history. In the
last apology of Stephen, which he spoke being full of the Holy Ghost,
and with divine influence beaming from his countenance, we have at
least two demonstrable inaccuracies in points of minor detail. And the
occurrence of similar ones in the Gospels would not in any way affect the
inspiration or the veracity of the Evangelists.

16. It may be well to mention one notable illustration of the princi-
ples upheld in this section. What can be more undoubted and unani-
mous than the testimony of the Evangelists to the resurrection of

* To suppose St. Luke to have written, " It seemed good to me also," if he were
under the conscious inspiration of the Holy Spirit, superseding all his own mental
powers and faculties, would be to charge him with ascribing to his own diligence and
selection that which was furnished to him independently of both. Yet to this are the
asserters of verbal inspiration committed.
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§ vi.] THEIR INSPIRATION. [introduction

the Lord ? If there be one fact rather than another of which the
Apostles were witnesses, it was this : — and in the concurrent narrative of
all four Evangelists it stands related beyond all cavil or question. Yet,
of all the events which they have described, none is so variously put forth
in detail, or with so many minor discrepancies. And this was just what
might have been expected, on the principles above laid down. The great
fact that the Lord was risen, — set forth by the ocular witness of the
Apostles, who had seen Him, — became from that day first in importance
in the delivery of their testimony. The precise order of His appearances
would naturally, from the overwhelming nature of their present emotions,
be a matter of minor consequence, and perhaps not even of accurate
enquiry till some time had passed. Then, with the utmost desire on the
part of the women and Apostles to collect the events in their exact order
of time, some confusion would be apparent in the history, and some discre-
pancies in versions of it which were the results of separate and inde-
pendent enquiries ; the traces of which pervade our present accounts.
But what fair-judging student of the Gospels ever made these variations
or discrepancies a ground for doubting the veracity of the Evangelists as
to the fact of the Resurrection, or the principal details of the Lord's
appearances after it ?

17. It will be well to state the bearing of the opinions advanced
in this section on two terms in common use, viz. verbal and plenary
inspiration.

18. With regard to verbal inspimtion, I take the sense of it, as
explained by its most strenuous advocates, to be, that every word and
phrase of the Scriptures is absolutely and separately true, — and, whether
narrative or discourse, took place, or was said, in every most exact par-
ticular as set down. Much might be said of the a priori unworthiness
of such a theory, as applied to a Gospel whose character is the freedom
of the Spirit, not the bondage of the letter : but it belongs more to my
present work to try it by applying it to the Gospels as we have them.
And I do not hesitate to say that, being thus applied, its effect will be
to destroy altogether the credibility of our Evangelists. Hardly a single
instance of parallelism between them arises, where they do not relate
the same thing indeed in substance, but expressed in terms which if
literally taken are incompatible with each other. To cite only one
obvious instance. The Title over the Cross was written in Greek, and,
being reported in Greek by the Evangelists, must represent not the Latin
or Hebrew forms, but the Greek form, of the inscription. According,
then, to the verbal-inspiration theory, each Evangelist has recorded the
exact words of the inscription ; not the general sense, but the inscription
itself, — not a letter less or more. This is absolutely necessary to the
theory. Its advocates must not be allowed, with convenient inconsis-

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i.

tency, to take refuge in a common-sense view of the matter wherever
their theory fails them, and still to uphold it in the main *. And how
it will here apply, the following comparison will shew : —

Matthew, This is Jesus the Kino op the Jews.

Mark, The Kino op the Jews.

Luke, This is the King op the Jews.

John, Jesus op Nazareth the King of the Jews.

Of course it must be understood, that / regard the above variations
in the form of the inscription as in fact no discrepancies at all. They
entirely prevent our saying with perfect precision what was the form of
the inscription : but they leave us the spirit and substance of it. In all
such cases I hold with the great Augustine, whose words I have cited
in my note on Matt, xiv., when treating of the varying reports of the
words spoken by the Apostles to our Lord during the storm on the lake
of Galilee, — and cannot forbear citing here again : " The sense op the
disciples waking the lord and seeking to be saved, is one and
the same : nor is it worth while to enquire, which of these
three was really said to christ. for whether they said any
one op these three, or other words, which no one op the
Evangelists has mentioned, but of similar import as to the
truth of the sense, what matters it ?"

19. Another objection to the theory is, that if it be so, the Christian
world is left in uncertainty what her Scriptures are, as long as the
sacred text is full of various readings. Some one manuscript must be
pointed out to us, which carries the weight of verbal inspiration, or some
text whose authority shall be undoubted, must be promulgated. But
manifestly neither of these things can ever happen. To the latest age,
the reading of some important passages will be matter of doubt in the
Church : and, which is equally subversive of the theory, though not of
equal importance in itself, there is hardly a sentence in the whole of the
Gospels in which there are not varieties of diction in our principal MSS.,
baffling all attempts to decide which was its original form.

20. The fact is, that this theory uniformly gives way before intel-
ligent study of the Scriptures themselves ; and is only held, consistently
and thoroughly, by those who have never undertaken that study. When
put forth by those who have, it is never carried fairly through ; but
while broadly asserted, is in detail abandoned.

6 This has been done, as far as I have seen, in all remarks of verbal-iiispiiationiste
on this part of my Introduction to the Greek Testament. A most curious idea has
been propounded on the example above given, viz. that by forcing into accord the words
of the title in Mark and Luke, and believing it to represent a translation from the
Latin inscription, we may suppose those in Matthew and John to have been, the one
the original Greek, the other a translation from the Hebrew (/).
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§ vii.] FORMAL HARMONIES. [introduction.

21. If I understand plenary inspiration rightly, I hold it to the
utmost, as entirely consistent with the opinions expressed in this
section. The inspiration of the sacred writers I believe to have con-
sisted in the fulness of the influence of the Holy Spirit specially raising
them to, and enabling them for, their work, — in a manner which dis-
tinguishes them from all other writers in the world, and their work
from all other works. The men were full of the Holy Ghost— the books
are the pouring out of that fulness through the men, — the conservation
of the treasure in earthen vessels. The treasure is ours, in all its rich-
ness : but it is ours as only it can be ours, — in the imperfections of
human speech, in the limitations of human thought, in the variety
incident first to individual character, and then to manifold transcription
and the lapse of ages.

22. Two things, in concluding this section, I would earnestly impress
on my readers. First, that we must take our views of inspiration not,
as is too often done, from a priori considerations, but entirely from

THE EVIDENCE FURNISHED BY THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES: and

secondly, that the men were inspired; the books are the results of
that inspiration. This latter consideration, if all that it implies be
duly weighed, will furnish us with the key to the whole question.

SECTION VII.

IMPRACTICABILITY OF CONSTRUCTING A FORMAL HARMONY OF THE
THREE GOSPELS.

1. From very early times attempts have been made to combine the
narratives of our Three Gospels into one continuous history. As might
have been expected, however, from the characteristics of those Gospels
above detailed, such Harmonies could not be constructed without doing
considerable violence to the arrangement of some one or more of the
three, and an arbitrary adoption of the order of some oney to which
then the others have been fitted and conformed. An examination of
any of the current Harmonies will satisfy the student that this has been
the case.

2. Now, on the supposition that the Three Gospels had arisen one out
of the other, with a design such as any of those which have been pre-
viously discussed (with the exception of e) in § ii. 2, 3, such a Harmony
not only ought to be possible, but should arise naturally out of the
several narratives, without any forcing or alteration of arrangement.
Nay, on the supplementary theory of Greswell and others, the last
written Gospel should itself be such a History as the Harmonizers are
in search of Now not only is this not the case, but their Harmonies

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introduction.] THE THREE GOSPELS. [ch. i. § vii.

contain the most violent and considerable transpositions: — they are
obliged to have recourse to the most arbitrary hypotheses of repetition
of events and discourses, — and, after all, their Harmonies, while some
difficulties would be evaded by their adoption, entail upon us others
even more weighty and inexplicable.

3. Taking, however, the view of the origin of the Gospels above
advocated, the question of the practicability of Harmonizing is simply
reduced to one of matter of fact : — how far the three Evangelists, in
relating the events of a history which was itself one and the same, have
presented us with the same side of"the narrative of those events, or with
fragments which will admit of being pieced into one another.

4. And there is no doubt that, as far as the main features of the
Evangelic history are concerned, a harmonious whole is presented to us
by the combined narrative. The great events of our Lord's ministry,
His baptism, His temptation, His teaching by discourses and miracles,
His selection of the Twelve, His transfiguration, His announcement
of His sufferings, death, and resurrection, His last journey to Jeru-
salem, His betrayal, His passion, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, —
these are common to all ; and, as far as they are concerned, their narra-
tives naturally fall into accordance and harmony. But when we come
to range their texts side by side, to supply clause with clause, and
endeavour to construct a complete History of details out of them, we at
once find ourselves involved in the difficulties above enumerated. And
the inference which an unbiassed mind will thence draw is, that as the
Evangelists wrote with no such design of being pieced together into a
complete History, but delivered the apostolic testimony as they had
received it, modified by individual character and oral transmission, and
arranged carefully according to the best of their knowledge, — so we
should thus simply and reverentially receive their records, without
setting them at variance with each other by compelling them in all
cases to say the same things of the same events.

5. If the Evangelists have delivered to us truly and faithfully the
apostolic narratives, and if the Apostles spoke as the Holy Spirit
enabled them, and brought events and sayings to their recollection, then
we may be sure that if we knew the real process of the transactions
themselves, that knowledge would enable us to give an account of the
diversities of narration and arrangement which the Gospels now present
to us. But without such knowledge, all attempts to accomplish this
analysis in minute detail must be merely conjectural : and must tend to
weaken the Evangelic testimony, rather than to strengthen it.

6. The only genuine Harmony of the Gospels will be furnished by
the unity and consistency of the Christian's belief in their record, as
true to the great events which it relates, and his enlightened and in-
telligent appreciation of the careful diligence of the Evangelists in

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ch. ii. § i.] MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. [introduction.

arranging the important matter before them. If in that arrangement he
finds variations, and consequently inaccuracies, on one side or the other,
he will be content to acknowledge the analogy which pervades all the
divine dealings with mankind, and to observe that God, who works, in
the communication of His other gifts, through the medium of secondary
agents — has been pleased to impart to us this, the record of His most
precious Gift, also by human agency and teaching. He will acknow-
ledge also, in this, the peculiar mercy and condescension of Him who
has adapted to universal human reception the record of eternal life by
His Son, by means of the very variety of individual recollections and
modified reports. And thus he will arrive at the true Harmonistic view
of Scripture; just as in the great and discordant world he does not
seek peace by setting one thing against another and finding logical
solution for all, but by holy and peaceful trust in that Almighty Father,
who doeth all things well. So that the argument so happily applied by
Butler to the nature of the Revelation contained in the Scriptures, may
with equal justice be applied to the books themselves in which the record
of that Revelation is found, — that * He who believes the Scriptures to
have proceeded from Him who is the Author of nature, may well expect
to find the same sort of difficulties in them as are found in the constitu-
tion of nature.'

CHAPTER II.

OP THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
SECTION I.

ITS AUTHORSHIP.

1. The author of this Gospel has been universally believed to be, the
Apostle Matthew. With this belief the contents of the Gospel are
not inconsistent ; and we find it current in the very earliest ages (see
testimonies in the next section).

2. Of the Apostle Matthew we know very little for certain. He was
the son of Alphaeus (Mark ii. 14), and therefore probably the brother of
James the less. His calling, from being a publican to be one of the
Twelve, is narrated by all three Evangelists. By St. Mark and St. Luke
he is called Levi; in this Gospel, Matthew. Such change of name after
becoming a follower of the Lord, was by no means uncommon ; and the
appearance of the apostolic, not the original name, in the Gospel proceed-

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Google

introduction.] MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. [ch. ii.

ing from himself, is in analogy with the practice of Paul, who always in
his Epistles speaks of himself by his new and Christian appellation.
(On the doubts raised in ancient times respecting the identity of Mat-
thew and Levi, see note on Matt. ix. 9.)

3. The Apostle Matthew is described by Clement of Alexandria as
belonging to the ascetic Judaistic school of early Christians. Nothing
is known of his apostolic labours out of Palestine, which Eusebius men-
tions generally. Later writers fix the scene of them in Ethiopia, but
also include in their circle Macedonia, and several parts of Asia. Hera-
cleon, as cited by Clement of Alexandria, relates that his death was
natural. This is implicitly confirmed by Clement himself, and by Origen
and Tertullian, who mention only Peter, Paul, and James the greater,
as martyrs among the Apostles.

SECTION H.

ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE.

On this point, which cannot be supposed of great interest to the
English reader, he may be contented to be informed thus much, that it
has been disputed among biblical scholars, whether this Gospel was
originally composed in Hebrew, or in Greek : — that the testimony of the
early Church is unanimous, that it was written in Hebrew : — but that
some doubt is thrown upon the sufficiency of this testimony, from a
probability that some at least of the Fathers mistook the apocryphal
"Gospel according to the Hebrews" for the Gospel of St. Matthew: —
and that the phsenomena of the Gospel itself are strongly against the
idea that it was written originally in any other language than that in
which we now possess it : viz. in Greek : which, be it remembered, was
the commonly spoken language in Palestine, and throughout the East.

For the further treatment of the question, I must refer to my Greek
Testament, Vol. I., Prolegomena, ch. ii. § ii.

SECTION III.

FOR WHAT READERS AND WITH WHAT OBJECT IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. An opinion has generally prevailed, both in ancient and modern
times, that Matthew originally drew up his Gospel for the use of the
Jewish converts in Palestine. And internal notices tend to confirm this
inference. We have fewer interpretations of Jewish customs, laws, and
localities, than in the two other Gospels. The whole narrative proceeds
more upon a Jewish view of matters, and is concerned more to establish
that point, which to a Jewish convert would be most important, —
that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Hence

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§ iv.] AT WHAT TIME WRITTEN, [introduction.

the commencement of His genealogy from Abraham and David ; hence
the frequent notice of the necessity of this or that event happening)
because it was so foretold by the Prophets; hence the constant opposition
of our Lord's spiritually ethical teaching to the carnal formalistic ethics
of the Scribes and Pharisees.

2. But we must not think of the Gospel as a systematic treatise
drawn up with this end continually in view. It only exercised a very
general and indirect influence over the composition, not excluding
narratives, sayings, and remarks which had no such tendency, or even
partook of an opposite one.

3. Grecian readers were certainly also in the view of the Apostle ;
and in consequence, he adds interpretations and explanations, such, for
example, as ch. i. 23 ; xxvii. 8, 33, 46, for their information.

4. In furtherance of the design above mentioned, we may discern
(with the caution given in 2) a more frequent and consistent reference
to the Lord as a King, and to his Messianic kingdom, than in the other
Gospels. Designing these remarks not as a complete Introduction to
the Gospels, but merely as subsidiary to the following Commentary,
I purposely do not give instances of these characteristics, but leave them
to be gathered by the student as he proceeds.

SECTION IV.

AT WHAT TIME IT WAS WBITTEN.

The testimony of the early Church is unanimous, that Matthew
wrote first among the Evangelists. Clement of Alexandria, who dis-
sented from the present order of our Gospels, yet placed those of
Matthew and Luke first. Origen's testimony is, that tradition in his
time reported Matthew to have written first. And Irenaeus relates that
Matthew wrote his Gospel while Peter and Paul were preaching and
founding the Church in Rome. Without adopting this statement, we
may remark that it represents a date, to which internal chronological
notices are not repugnant. It seems, from ch. xxvii. 8, and xxviii. 15,
that some considerable time had elapsed since the events narrated ; while,
from the omission of all mention of the destruction of Jerusalem, it would
appear that the Gospel was published be/ore that event. All these marks
of time are, however, exceedingly vague, especially when other notices
are taken into account, which place the Gospel eight years after the
Ascension (so Theophylact and Euthymius) ; fifteen years after the
Ascension (Nicephorus) : — at the time of the stoning of Stephen (Cosmas
Indicopleustes).

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introduction.] MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. [ch. ii. § v.

SECTION V.

ITS STYLE AND CHARACTER.

1. The Gospel of Matthew is written in the same form of diction
which pervades the other Gospels, the Hebraistic or Hellenistic' Greek.
This dialect resulted from the dispersion of the Greek language by the
conquests of Alexander, and more especially from the intercourse of
Jews with Greeks in the city of Alexandria. It is that of the LXX
version of the Old Testament ; of the apocryphal books ; and of the
writings of Philo and Josephus. In these two latter, however, it is not
so marked, as in versions from the Hebrew, or books aiming at a
Hebraistic character.

2. Of the three Gospels, that of Matthew presents the most complete
example of the Hebraistic diction and construction, with perhaps the
exception of the first chapter of Luke. And from what has been above
said respecting its design, this would naturally be the case.

3. The internal character of this Gospel also answers to what we
know of the history and time of its compilation. Its marks of chrono-
logical sequence are very vague, and many of them are hardly perhaps
to be insisted on at all. When compared with the more definite notices
of Mark and Luke, its order of events is sometimes superseded by theirs.
It was to be expected, in the earliest written accounts of matters so
important, that the object should rather be to record the things done,
and the sayings of our Lord, than the precise order in which they took
place.

4. It is in this principal duty of an Evangelist that Matthew stands
pre-eminent ; and especially in the report of the longer discourses of our
Lord. It was within the limits of his purpose in writing, to include all
the descriptions of the state and hopes of the citizens of the kingdom of
heaven which Jesus gave during his ministry. This seems to have
been the peculiar gift of the Spirit to him, — to recall and deliver down,
in their strictest verbal connexion, such discourses as the Sermon on the
Mount, ch. v. — vii. ; the apostolic commission, ch. x. ; the discourse
concerning John, ch. xi. ; that on blasphemy against the Holy Ghost,
ch. xii. ; the series of parables, ch. xiii. ; that to the Apostles on their
divisions, ch. xviii. ; and in their fulness, the whole series of polemical
discourses and prophetic parables in ch. xxi. — xxv.

5. It has been my endeavour in the following Commentary, to point
out the close internal connexion of the longer discourses, and to combat
the mistake of those critics who suppose them to be no more than col-
lections of shorter sayings associated together from similarity of subject
or character.

32]

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ch. in. § ii.] ITS ORIGIN. [introduction.

CHAPTER III.

OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK.

SECTION I.
its authorship.

1. As in the case of the two other Gospels, we are dependent entirely
on traditional sources for the name of the author. It has been univer-
sally believed to be Marcus : and further, that he was the same person
who, in Acts xii. 12, 25 ; xv. 37, is spoken of as John whose surname was
Mark: in xiii. 5, 13, as John: in xv. 39, as Mark: also in Col. iv. 10:
2 Tim. iv. 11: Philem. 24. The few particulars gleaned respecting him
from Scripture are, that his mother's name was Mary (Acts xii. 12) ; and
that she was sister to the Apostle Barnabas (Col. iv. 10) ; that she dwelt
in Jerusalem (Acts, ibid.) ; that he was converted to Christianity by the
Apostle Peter (1 Pet. v. 13); that he became the minister and com-
panion of Paul and Barnabas, in their first missionary journey (Acts xii.
25) ; and was the cause of the variance and separation of these Apostles
on their second (Acts xv. 37 — 40), — Barnabas wishing to take him
again with them, but Paul refusing, because he had departed from them
before the completion of the former journey (Acts xiii. 13). He then
became the companion of Barnabas in his journey to Cyprus (Acts xv.
39). We find him however again with Paul (Col. iv. 10), and an allusion
apparently made in the words there to some previous stain on his cha-
racter, which was then removed; see also Philem. 24: 2 Tim. iv. 11.
Lastly, we find him with Peter (1 Pet. v. 13). From Scripture we know
no more concerning him. But an unanimous tradition of the ancient
Christian writers represents him as the " interpreter" of Peter : i.e. the
secretary or amanuensis, whose office it was to commit to writing the
orally-delivered instructions and narrations of the Apostle. See authori-
ties quoted in § ii., below.

2. Tradition brings him with Peter to Rome (but apparently only on
the authority of 1 Pet. v. 13) ; and thence to Alexandria. He is said
to have become first bishop of the Church in that city, and to have
suffered martyrdom there. All this, however, is exceedingly uncertain.

SECTION II.

ITS ORIGIN.

1. It was universally believed in the ancient Church, that Mark's
Gospel was written under the influence, and almost by the dictation, of
Peter.

Vol. L— 33] c

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introduction.] MARK'S GOSPEL. [ch. in.

(a) Eusebias quotes from Papias, as a testimony of John the pres-
byter, " Mark was the interpreter of Peter, and wrote down accurately
whatever he recollected.,,

(b) The same author says, "Mark, the disciple and interpreter of
Peter, has delivered down to us in writing the things preached by Peter."
This he quotes from Irenaeus ; and further that this took place after the
deaths of Peter and Paul.

(c) The same author relates, on the authority of Clement and Papias,
that the hearers of Peter at Rome, unwilling that his teaching should be
lost to them, besought Mark, who was a follower of Peter, to commit to
writing the substance of that teaching ; that the Apostle, being informed
supernaturally of the work in which Mark was engaged, " was pleased
with the earnestness of the man, and authorized the writing according to
the request of the Church." This account is manifestly inconsistent
with the former.

(d) Eusebius gives yet another account, citing the very passage of
Clement above referred to : that Peter, knowing of Mark's work when it
was completed and published, " neither forbade it nor encouraged it."

(e) The same author elsewhere says, " Thus says Peter concerning
himself: for all things found in Mark are said to have been memorials of
the discourses of Peter."

(/) Tertullian relates: "The Gospel which Mark put forth is
affirmed to be Peter's, whose interpreter Mark was."

(g) Jerome writes : " Paul then had Titus for his interpreter, as also
St. Peter had Mark, whose Gospel was composed by him writing at
Peter's dictation."

2. The above testimonies must now be examined as to how far we are
bound to receive them as decisive. We may observe that the matter
to which they refer is one which could, from its nature, have been known
to very few persons ; viz. the private and unavowed influence of an
Apostle over the writer. (For I reject at once the account which
makes Peter authorize the Gospel, from no such authorization being
apparent, which it certainly would have been, had it ever existed.)
Again, the accounts cited are most vague and inconsistent as to the
extent and nature of this influence, — some stating it to have been no
more than that Peter preached, and Mark, after his death, collected the
substance of his testimony from memory ; others making it extend even
to the dictation of the words by the Apostle.

3. It is obvious that all such accounts must be judged according to
the phenomena presented by the Gospel itself. Now we find, in the
title of the Gospel, a presumption that no such testimony of Peter is
here presented to us, as we have of Matthew in the former Gospel.
Had such been the case, we should have found it called the Gospel
according to Peter, not according to Mark.

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§ ii.] ITS ORIGIN* [introduction.

4. If again we examine the contents of the Gospel, we are certainly
not justified in concluding that Peter's hand has been directly employed
in its compilation in its present form. The various mentions, and
omissions of mention, of incidents in which that Apostle is directly
concerned, are such as to be in no way consistently accounted for on
this hypothesis. For let it be allowed that a natural modesty might
have occasionally led him to omit matters tending to his honour, — yet
how are we to account for his omitting to give an exact detail of other
things at which he was present, and of which he might have rendered
the most precise and circumstantial account ? This has been especially
the case in the narrative of the day of the Resurrection, not to mention
numerous other instances which will be noticed in the Commentary.
Besides, the above hypothesis regarding his suppressions cannot be con-
sistently carried out. A remarkable instance to the contrary may be
seen, ch. xvi. 7, where " tell his disciples and Peter99 stands for " tell his
disciples'! in Matthew.

5. We are led to the same conclusion by a careful comparison of the
contents of this Gospel with those of Matthew and Luke. We find that
it follows the same great cycle of apostolic teaching ; — that its narra-
tives are derived in many cases from the same sources ; — that it is im-
probable that any individual Apostle should have moulded and fashioned
a record which keeps so much to the beaten track of the generally-
received Evangelic history. His own individual remembrances must
unavoidably have introduced additions of so considerable an amount as
to have given to the Gospel more original matter than it at present

6. But while unable to conceive any influence directly exerted by
Peter over the compilation of the Gospel*, I would by no means deny
the possibility of the derivation of some narratives in it from that
Apostle, and recognize in such derivation the ground of the above tes-
timonies. The peculiarly minute and graphic precision (presently, § viii.
to be further spoken of) which distinguishes this Evangelist, seems to
claim for him access in many cases to the testimony of some eye-witness
where the other two Evangelists have not had that advantage. I have
pointed out these cases where they occur, in the Commentary; and
have not hesitated in some of them to refer conjecturally to Peter as
the source of the narration.

7. The inference to be drawn from what has preceded is, that, — the
general tradition of the ancients, which ascribed to Mark a connexion
with Peter as his secretary or interpreter, being adopted, as likely to be
founded on fact, — yet the idea of any considerable or direct influence of
Peter over the writing of the Gospel is not borne out by the work itself.
We may so far recognize in it one form of the probable truth , — it is
likely that Mark, from continual intercourse with and listening to Peter,

35] c 2

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introduction.] MARK'S GOSPEL. [ch. hi.

and possibly from preservation of many of his narrations entire, may
have been able, after his death, or at all events when separated from
him, to preserve in his Gospel those vivid and original touches of
description and filling-out of the incidents, which we now discover in it.
Further than this I do not think we are authorized in assuming ; and
even this is conjectural only.

section m.

FOR WHAT READERS AND WITH WHAT OBJECT IT WAS WRITTEN.

1 . Internal evidence is very full as to the class of readers for whom
Mark compiled his Gospel : the Gentile Christians are clearly pointed
out by the following indications : —

(a) The omission of all genealogical notices of our Lord's descent.

(b) The general abstinence from Old Testament citations, except in
reporting discourses of our Lord (ch. i. 2, 3 is the only exception, xv.
28 being rejected as spurious).

(c) The appending of interpretations to the Hebrew or Aramaic
terms occurring in the narrative (ch. v. 41 ; vii. 11, 34).

(d ) The explanations of Jewish customs, as for example ch. vii. 3, 4.

(e) Remarkable insertions or omissions in particular places: as, e. g.
" for all the nations," ch. xi. 17, which words are omitted in Matthew and
Luke: — no mention of the Jewish law: — omission of the limitations
of the mission of the Apostfes in Matt. x. (common, however, also to
Luke).

2. It is true that too much stress must not be laid on single par-
ticulars of this sort, as indicating design, where the sources of the
Gospels were so scattered and fragmentary. But the concurrence of all
these affords a very strong presumption that that class of readers was
in the view of the Evangelist, in whose favour all these circumstances
unite. See Introduction to Matthew, § iii. 2.

SECTION IV.

AT WHAT TIME IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. The most direct testimony on this head is that of Irenceus (see
above, § ii. 1, b), that it was after the deaths of Peter and Paul. This
would place its date, at all events, after the year 63 (see In trod, to Acts,
chronological table). But here, as in the case of the other Gospels,
very little can be with any certainty inferred. We have conflicting
36]

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§ vi.] IN WHAT LANGUAGE WRITTEN, [introduction.

traditions (see above, § ii.), and the Gospel itself affords us no clue
whatever.

2. One thing only we may gather from the contents of the three first
Gospels, — that none of them could have been originally written after
the destruction of Jerusalem. Had they been, the omission of all
allusion to so signal a fulfilment of our Lord's prophecies would be
inexplicable. In the case indeed of Luke, we can approximate nearer
than this (see below, ch. iv. § 4); but in those of Matthew and Mark,
this is all which can be safely assumed as to the time of their first
publication ; — that it was after the dispersion or even the death of most
of the Apostles, and before the investment of Jerusalem by the Roman
armies under Titus in the year 70.

SECTION V.

AT WHAT PLACE IT WAS WRITTEN.

Of this we have no trustworthy evidence. Most ancient writers
(Clement, Eusebius, Jerome, Epiphanius, &c.) mention Borne; but
apparently in connexion with the idea of Mark having written under
the superintendence of Peter. Chrysostom mentions Alexandria ; but no
Alexandrine writer confirms the statement. In modern times, Storr has
advanced an hypothesis that Mark wrote at Antioch, which he grounds,
but insufficiently, on a comparison of ch. xv. 21, with Acts xi. 20.

SECTION VI.

IN WHAT LANGUAGE IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. There has never been any reasonable doubt that Mark wrote in
Greek. The two Syriac versions contain a marginal note, that Mark
preached in Borne in Latin : and four of the later manuscripts of the
Gospel append a notice to the same effect. This statement, however, is
destitute of probability from any external or internal evidence, and is
only one more assumption from the hypothetical publication in Rome
under the superintendence of Peter, and for Roman converts.

2. Many writers of the Romish Church have defended the hypothesis
of a Latin original, being biassed by a wish to maintain the authority
of the Vulgate : and a pretended part of the original autograph of the
Evangelist is still shewn in the Library of St. Mark's church at Venice ;
which, however, has been detected to be merely part of an ancient Latin
MS. of the four gospels.

3. If Mark wrote in Latin, it is almost inconceivable that the original

37]

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introduction.] MARE'S GOSPEL. [ch. hi.

should have perished so early that no ancient writer should have made
mention of the fact. For Latin was the language of a considerable and
increasing body of Christians, — unlike Hebrew, which was little known,
and belonged (but even this is doubtful) to a section of converts few
in number:— yet ancient testimony is unanimous to Matthew's having
written in Hebrew, — while we have not one witness to Mark having
written in Latin.

section vn.

GENUINENESS OF THE GOSPEL.

1. This has never been called in question, till very recently, by some
of the German critics on, as it appears to me, wholly insufficient grounds.
They allege that the testimony of Papias (see above, § ii. 1, a) does not
apply to the contents of our present Gospel, but that some later hand
has worked up and embellished the original simple and unarranged
notices of Mark, which have perished.

2. But neither do the words of Papias imply any such inference as
that Mark's notices must have been simple and unarranged ; nor, if they
did, are they of any considerable authority in the matter. It is enough
that from the very earliest time the Gospel has been known as that of
Mark ; confirmed as this evidence is by the circumstance, that this name
belongs to no great and distinguished founder of the Church, to whom it
might naturally be ascribed, but to one, the ascription to whom can hardly
be accounted for, except by its foundation in matter of fact.

3. On the genuineness of the remarkable fragment at the end of the
Gospel, see notes there.

SECTION VIII.

ITS STYLE AND CHARACTER.

1. Of the three first Gospels, that of Mark is the most distinct and
peculiar in style. By far the greater part of those graphic touches which
describe the look and gesture of our Lord, the arrangement or appearance
of those around Him, the feelings with which He contemplated the
persons whom He addressed, are contained in this Gospel. While the
matters related are fewer than in either Matthew or Luke, Mark, in by
far the greater number of common narrations, is the most copious, and
rich in lively and interesting detail.

2. In one part only does Mark appear as an abridger of previously
well-known facts ; viz., in ch. i. 1 — 13, where, — his object being to detail
the official life of our Lord, — he hastens through the previous great

38]

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§ vm.] ITS STYLE AND CHARACTER, [introduction.

events, — the ministry of John, the baptism and temptation of Christ.
Bnt even in the abrupt transitions of this section, there is wonderful
graphic power, presenting us with a series of life-like pictures, cal-
culated to impress the reader strongly with the reality and dignity of
the events related.

3. Throughout the Gospel, even where the narratives are the most
copious, the same isolated character of each, the same abrupt transition
from one to another, is observable. There is no attempt to bind on one
section to another, or to give any sequences of events. But occasionally
the very precision of the separate narratives of itself furnishes accurate
and valuable chronological data : — e. g. the important one in ch. iv. 35,
by which it becomes evident that the whole former part of Matthew's
Gospel is out of chronological order.

4. Mark relates but few 'discourses. His object being to set forth
Jesus as the Son op God (see ch. i. 1), he principally dwells on the
events of His official life. But the same characteristics mark his report
of our Lord's discourses, where he relates them, as we have observed in
the rest of his narrative. While the sequence and connexion of the
longer discourses was that which the Holy Spirit peculiarly brought to
the mind of Matthew, the Apostle from whom Mark's record is derived
seems to have been deeply penetrated and impressed by the solemn
iterations of cadence and expression, and to have borne away the very
words themselves and tone of the Lord's sayings. See especially, as
illustrating this, the wonderfully sublime reply, ch. ix. 39 — 50.

5. According to the view adopted and vindicated in the notes on ch.
xvi. 9 — 20, the Gospel terminates abruptly with the words " for they
were afraid," ver. 8. That this was not intentionally done, but was a
defect, — is apparent, by the addition, in apostolic times, of the authentic
and most important fragment which now concludes the narrative.

6. I regard the existence of the Gospel of Mark as a gracious and
valuable proof of the accommodation by the divine Spirit of the records
of the life of our Lord to the future necessities of the Church. While
it contains little matter of fact which is not related in Matthew and
Luke, and thus, generally speaking, forms only a confirmation of their
more complete histories, it is so far from being a barren duplicate of
that part of them which is contained in it, that it comes home to every
reader with all the freshness of an individual mind, full of the Holy
Ghost, intently fixed on the great object of the Christian's love and
worship, reverently and affectionately following and recording His posi-
tions, and looks, and gestures, and giving us the very echo of the tones
with which He spoke. And thus the believing student feels, while
treating of and studying this Gospel, as indeed he does of each in its
turn, that, — without venturing to compare with one another in value
these rich and abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church, — the

39]

INTRODUCTION.] LUKE'S GOSPEL. [ch. it.

Gospel of Mark is at least as precious to him as any of the others ;
serving an end, and filling a void, which could not without spiritual
detriment be left uncared for.

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.
SECTION I.

ITS AUTHORSHIP.

1. Although the Author of this Gospel plainly enough speaks of
himself in his Introduction, and in that to the Acts of the Apostles, we
are left to gather his name from tradition. Here, however, as in the
case of Mark, there seems to be no reasonable ground of doubt. It has
been universally ascribed to Lucas, or Luke, spoken of Col. iv. 14, and
again Philem. 24, and 2 Tim. iv. 11.

2. Of this person we know no more with any certainty than we find
related in the Acts of the Apostles and the passages above referred to.
From Col. iv. 11, 14, it would appear that he was not born a Jew, being
there distinguished from " those of the circumcision." It is, however,
quite uncertain whether he had become a Jewish proselyte previous
to his conversion to Christianity. His worldly calling was that of a
Physician ; he is called " the beloved Physician " by Paul, CoL iv. 14.
A very late tradition, generally adopted by the Romish Church, makes
him also to have been a painter ; but it is in no respect deserving of
credit. His birthplace is said 'by Eusebius and Jerome to have been
Antioch, but traditionally only, and perhaps from a mistaken identification
of him with Lucius, Acts xiii. 1. Tradition, as delivered by Epiphanius,
Theophylact, Euthymius, &c, makes him to have been one of the seventy,
Luke x. 1 ; but this is refuted by his own testimony, in his Preface, —
where he by implication distinguishes himself from those who were
eye-witnesses and ministers of the word. It seems to have arisen from
his Gospel alone containing the account of their mission.

3. Luke appears to have attached himself to Paul during the second
missionary journey of the Apostle, and at Troas (Acts xvi. 10). This
may perhaps be inferred from his there first making use of the first
person plural in his narrative ; after saying (ver. 8) " they came down
to Troas," he proceeds (ver. 1 0), " immediately we endeavoured to go

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§ ii.] ITS ORIGIN. [introduction.

into Macedonia." He thence accompanied Paul to Macedonia, re-
maining perhaps at Philippi (but see below, § iv. 3) until Paul returned
thither again at the end of his second visit to Greece, after the disturbance
at Ephesus. Thence (Acts xx. 5) we find him again accompanying Paul
to Asia and Jerusalem (xxi. 17); being apparently with him at Caesarea
during his imprisonment (xxi v. 23); and travelling with him to Rome
(xxvii. 1 — xxviii. 16). There we also find him remaining with the
Apostle to a late period, very nearly till his martyrdom. (See 2 Tim.
iv. 11.)

4. Of the time and manner of his death nothing certain is known,
and the traditions are inconsistent one with another : some alleging him
to have suffered martyrdom, while the general report is that he died a
natural death.

SECTION II.

ITS ORIGIN.

1. A plain statement of the origin of this Gospel is given us by the
Author himself, in his preface, ch. i. 1 — 4. He (here states that many
had taken in hand to draw up a statement, according to the testimony
of those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and ministers of
the word, of the matters received (or fulfilled) among Christians ; and
that it therefore semed good to him also, having carefully traced the
progress of events from the first, to write an arranged account of the
same to his friend (or patron) Theophilus.

2. From this we gather, (1) that Luke was not himself an eye-witness,
nor a minister of the word from the beginning; (2) that he compiled his
Gospel from the testimony of eye-witnesses and Apostles, which he carefully
collected and arranged. For (1 ) he implicitly excludes himself from the
number of the " eye-witnesses and ministers of the word," and (2) by the
"to me also" he includes himself among the "many" who made use of
the testimony of eye-witnesses and of Apostles.

3. I have before proved generally that the Gospels of Matthew and
Mark cannot have been among the number of these narratives of which
Luke speaks. I may now add to those proofs, that if Luke had seen
and received, as of apostolic authority, either or both of these gospels,
then his variations from them are, on his own shewing, unaccountable ;
if he had seen them, and did not receive them, his coincidences with them
are equally unaccountable. The improbabilities and absurdities involved
in his having either or both of them before him and working up their
narratives into his own, I have before dealt with, in the general Intro-
duction to the Three Gospels.

4. Judging entirely from the phenomena presented by the Gospel

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INTBODUCTION.] LUKE'S GOSPEL. [ch. IV.

itself, my conclusion with regard to its sources is the following : — that
Luke, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, drew up his Gospel inde-
pendently of, and without knowledge of, those of Matthew and Mark ;
— that he fell in with, in the main, the same cycle of apostolic teaching
as the writers of those Gospels placed on record, viz. that which em-
braced principally the Galilaan life and ministry of our Lord, to the
exclusion of that part of it which passed at Jerusalem before the formal
call of the twelve Apostles ; — but that he possessed other sources of
information, not open to the compiler of Matthew's Gospel, nor to Mark.

5. To this latter circumstance may be attributed his access to (I
believe, from its peculiar style and character) a documentary record of
the events preceding and accompanying the birth of the Lord, derived
probably from her who alone was competent to narrate several parti-
culars contained in it : — his preservation of the precious and most im-
portant cycle of our Lord's discourses and parables contained in that
large section of his Gospel, ch. ix. 51 — xviii. 15, which is mostly peculiar
to himself: — numerous other details scattered up and down in every
part of his narrative, shewing information from an eye-witness : — and,
lastly, his enlarged account of some events following the Resurrection, and
the narration, by him alone, of the circumstances accompanying the
Ascension.

6. A tradition was very early current, that Luke's Gospel contained
the substance of the teaching of Paul. Irenseus states : " Luke, the
follower of Paul, set down in a book the Gospel preached by that
Apostle7." See also Tertullian. But this is contradicted by the
implicit assertion of the Evangelist himself in his preface, that the Gospel
was compiled and arranged by himself from the testimony of those
who, 'from the beginning of our Lord's ministry,' were eye-witnesses or
ministers of the word. Among these it is not, of course, possible to
reckon Paul.

7. It is however an interesting enquiry, how far his continued inter-
course with the great Apostle of the Gentiles may have influenced his
diction, or even his selection of facts. It is a remarkable coincidence,
that the account of the institution of the Lord's Supper should be nearly
verbatim the same in Luke xxii. 19, and in 1 Cor. xi. 23, — and that
Paul claims to have received this last from the Lord. For we know,
that to compensate to Paul in his apostolic office for the want of the
authority of an eye-witness, and to constitute him a witness to the truth
of the Gospel, a revelation was made to him, — to which he refers,
Gal. i. 12: Eph. iii. 3: 1 Cor. xi. 23; xv. 3, — embracing at least

7 Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome go bo far as to understand the expression "my
Gospel/' Rom. ii. 16, of the Gospel of Luke. But this is contrary to the usage of the
word " Gospel " in the New Testament : see the true meaning in notes there.
42]

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§ in.] FOR WHAT READERS WRITTEN, [introduction.

the leading facts of the evangelic history. And this circumstance may
have acted imperceptibly on the mind of Luke, and even shaped or
filled out some of his narratives, in aid of direct historic sources of
testimony.

8. There is very little trace of PauVs peculiar diction, or prominence
given to the points which it became his especial work to inculcate in the
Gospel of Luke. Doubtless we may trace a similar cast of mind and
feeling in some instances; as e.g. Luke's carefulness to record the
sayings of our Lord which were assertive of His unrestricted love for
Jew and Gentile alike : Luke iv. 25 ff. ; ix. 52 ff. ; x. 30 ff. ; xvii. 16,
18. We may observe too that in Luke those parables and sayings are
principally found, which most directly regard the great doctrine of
man's free justification by grace through faith: e.g. ch. xv. 11 ff.;
xvii. 10; xviii. 14, in which latter place the use of "justified" (see
note there) is remarkable. These instances, however, are but few, —
and it may perhaps be doubted whether Commentators in general have
not laid too great stress upon them. It would be very easy to trace
similar relations and analogies in the other Gospels, if we were bent
upon doing so.

SECTION m.

FOR WHAT HEADERS AND WITH WHAT OBJECT IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. Both these questions are formally answered for us by the Evan-
gelist himself. He states, ch. i. 3, that he wrote primarily for the benefit
of one Theophilus, and that he might know the certainty of those accounts
which had formed the subject of his catechetical instruction.

2. But we can hardly suppose this object to have been the only
moving cause to the great work which Luke was undertaking. The
probabilities of the case, and the practice of authors in inscribing their
works to particular persons, combine to persuade us that Luke must
have regarded his friend as the representative of a class of readers for
whom his Gospel was designed. And in enquiring what that class was,
we must deal with the data furnished by the Gospel itself.

3. In it we find universality the predominant character. There is no
marked regard paid to Jewish readers, as in Matthew, nor to Gentiles,
as in Mark; if there be any preference, it seems rather on the side of the
latter. In conformity with Jewish practice, we have a genealogy of our
Lord, which however does not, as in Matthew, stop with Abraham, but
traces up his descent even to the progenitor of the human race. Com-
mentators have noticed that Luke principally records those sayings and
acts of our Lord by which God's mercy to the Gentiles is set forth :

43]

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INTRODUCTION.] LUKE'S GOSPEL. [ch, IV.

see ch. xv. 11 ff.; xviii. 10; xix. 5 (but see notes there); x. 33 ; xvii. 19;
ix. 52 — 56 ; iv. 25 — 27. Such iustances, however, are not much to be
relied on; — see above, ch. i. § ii. 6; — to which I will add, that it would
be easy to construct a similar list to prove the same point with respect
to Matthew or John8; — and I therefore much prefer assigning the above
character of universality to this Gospel, which certainly is visible
throughout it. That it was constructed for Gentile readers as well as
for Jews, is plain ; and is further confirmed from the fact of its author
having been the friend and companion of the great Apostle of the
Gentiles,

4. I infer then that the Gospel was designed for the general use of
Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles ; and, subordinately to this general
purpose, for those readers whose acquaintance with Jewish customs and
places was sufficient to enable them to dispense with those elucidations
of them which Mark and John have given, but which are not found in
Matthew or Luke.

5. The object of the Gospel has been sufficiently declared in Luke's
own words above cited, — that the converts might know the certainty of
those things in which they had received oral instruction as catechumens;
in other words, that the portions of our Lord's life and discourses thus
imparted to them might receive both permanence, by being committed
to writing, — and completion, by being incorporated in a detailed narra-
tive of His acts and sayings.

SECTION IV.

AT WHAT TIME IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. We are enabled to approximate to the time of the publication of
this Gospel with much more certainty than we can to that of any of the
others. The enquiry may be thus conducted. — We may safely assume

» e.g. Matthew relates the visit of the Magi, ch. ii. 1 ff.; refers to Galilee of the
Gentiles seeing a great light, ch. iv. 15, 16 :— • Many shall come from the East and
West' &c. ch. viii. 11 — ' Come unto me all ye that labour,' ch. xi. 28 : the Syropha-
nician woman (not related by Luke), ch. xv. 21 ff.; 'The Kingdom of God shall be
taken from you, and given to a nation,' &c. ch. xxi. 43 (omitted by Luke) : ' The elect
from the four winds of heaven ' (not in Luke), ch. xxiv. 31 : * The judgment of all the
nations,' ch. xxv. 31 — 46 : * Make disciples of all the nations,' ch. xviii. 19. — Again,
John relates the visit to the Samaritans, ch. iv.; ' The other sheep not of this fold,'
ch. x. 16 : ' not for that nation only, but that he should gather together in one the
children of God that were scattered abroad,' ch. xi. 52 : * The request of the Greeks
at the feast,' ch. xii. 20, Ac. &c. See the view, that Luke wrote for Greeks principally,
ingeniously illustrated in the lecture prefixed to this Gospel in the first volume of Dr.
Wordsworth's Greek Testament : which however, like the other notices of this learned
and estimable writer, is written far too strongly in the spirit of an advocate, who can
see only that which it is his aim to prove.

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§ iv.] AT WHAT TIME WRITTEN, [introduction

that the i former treatise' of Acts i. 1, can be no other than this Gospel.
And on that follows the inference, that the Gospel was published before
the Acts of the Apostles. Now the last event recorded in the Acts is an
interview of Paul with the Jews, shortly after his arrival in Rome. We
further have the publication of the Acts, by the words of ch. xxviii. 30,
postponed two whole years after that arrival and interview; but, I
believe, no longer than that. For had Paul continued longer than that
time in his hired house before the publication, it must have been so
stated ; and had he left Rome or that house, or had any remarkable
event happened to him before the publication, we cannot suppose that
so careful a recorder as Luke would have failed to bring his work down
to the time then present, by noticing such departure or such event. I
assume then the publication of the Acts to have taken place two years
* after PauVs arrival at Rome : i. e. according to Wieseler (see my
chronological table in Introduction to Acts), in the spring of a.d. 63.

2. We have therefore a fixed date, before which the Gospel must have
been published. But if I am not mistaken, we have, by internal
evidence, the date of its publication removed some time back from
this date. It is hardly probable that Luke would speak of, as " the
former treatise," a work in which he was then, or had been very lately,
engaged. But not to dwell on this, — even allowing that the prefatory
and dedicatory matter, as is usually the case, may have come last from the
hands of the author, — I find in the account of the Ascension, which
immediately follows, a much more cogent proof, that the Gospel had
been some considerable time published. For while it recapitulates the
Gospel account just so much that we can trace the same hand in it
(compare Acts i. 4 with Luke xxiv. 49), it is manifestly a different account^
much fuller in particulars, and certainly unknown to the Evangelist when
he wrote his Gospel. Now, as we may conclude, in accordance with the
" having traced down all things accurately from the very first," of Luke
i. 3, that he would have carefully sought out every available source of
information at the time of writing his Gospel, — this becoming acquainted
with a new account of the Ascension implies that in the mean time fresh
sources of information had been opened to him. And this would most
naturally be by change ofplace9 seeing that various fixed cycles of apos-
tolic teaching were likely to be current in, and about, the respective
mother churches. Now the changes of place in Luke's recent history
had been, — two years before, from Caesarea to Rome, Acts xxvii. 1 ff. ;
two years and a half before that, from Philippi to Jerusalem, Acts xx. 6 ;
xxi. 15 ff., — and Caesarea. This last is left to be inferred from his leav-
ing Caesarea with Paul, ch. xxvii. 1 ; — at all events he was during this
time in Palestine, with, or near Paul. I shall make it probable in the
Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles, that during this period he was
engaged in collecting materials for and compiling that book ; and by

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INTRODUCTION.] LUKE'S GOSPEL. [ch. IV.

consequence (see above), that in all probability the Gospel had been then
written and published. This would place its publication before a.d. 58 *
—consequently, before the traditional date of the Gospel of Matthew, —
see above, ch. ii. § iv.

3. Tracing Luke's history further back than this, — it has been thought
that he remained at Philippi during the whole time comprised between
Acts xviL 1 and xx. 6, because he disuses the first person at the first of
those dates, at Philippi, — and resumes it also at Philippi, at the second.
Now this was a period of seven years : far too long for such an inference
as the above to be made with any probability. During this time he may
have travelled into Palestine, and collected the information which he
incorporated in his Gospel. For that it was collected t» Palestine, is
on all accounts probable. And that it should have been published much
before this, is, I think, improbable.

4. My reasons are the following : — I have implied in the former part
of this Introduction, that it is not likely that the present evangelic collec-
tions would be made until the dispersion of all or most of the Apostles
on their missionary journeys. Besides this, the fact of numerous narra-
tives having been already drawn up after the model of the apostolic
narrative teaching, forbids us to suppose their teaching by oral commu-
nication to have been in its fulness still available. Now the Apostles, or
the greater part of them, were certainly at Jerusalem at the time of the
council in Acts xv. 1 — 5 ff., L e. about a.d. 50. How soon after that
time their dispersion took place, it is quite impossible to determine : —
but we have certainly this date as our starting-point, before which, as I
believe, no Gospel could have been published.

5. After this dispersion of the Apostles, it will be necessary to allow
some time to elapse for the narratives of which Luke speaks (ch. i. 1) to
be drawn up ; — not less certainly than one or two years, or more : which
would bring us just about to the time when he was left behind by Paul
in Philippi. This last arrangement must however be, from its merely
hypothetical grounds, very uncertain.

6. At all events, we have thus eight years, a.d. 50 — 58, as the limits
within which it is probable that the Gospel was published. And, with-
out pretending to minute accuracy in these two limits, we may at least
set it down as likely that the publication did not take place much before
Luke and Paul are found together, nor after the last journey which
Paul made to Jerusalem, a.d. 58. And even if the grounds on which
this latter is concluded be objected to, we have, as a final resort, the
fixed date of the publication of the Acts two years after Paul's arrival
at Rome, after which, by internal evidence, the Gospel cannot have been
published.

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§ vii.] GENUINENESS OF THE GOSPEL, [introduction-

SECTION V.

AT WHAT PLACE IT WAS WRITTEN.

1. Our answer to this enquiry will of course depend upon the con-
siderations discussed in the last section. Adopting the view there
taken, we find Luke in Asia Minor, Syria, or Palestine (probably)
previously to his first journey with Paul a.d. 51 ; and from that time
till his second journey a.d. 58, perhaps remaining in Greece, but perhaps
also travelling for the sake of collecting information for his Gospel.
At all events, at the latter part of this period he is again found at
Philippi. We need not then dissent from the early tradition, reported
by Jerome, that Luke published his Gospel in the parts of Achaia and
Boeotia, as being on the whole the most likely inference.

2. The inscription in the Syriac version, — and Simeon Metaphrastes
in the tenth century, — report that the Gospel was written at Alexandria,
but apparently without any authority.

SECTION VI.

IN WHAT LANGUAGE IT WA8 WRITTEN.

There never has been any doubt that Luke wrote his Gospel in Greek.
His familiarity with Greek terms and idioms, and above all, the classical
style of his preface, are of themselves convincing internal evidence that
it was so.

SECTION vn.

GENUINENESS OF THE GOSPEL.

1. It has been generally and almost unanimously acknowledged
that the Gospel which we now possess is that written and published
by Luke.

2. Whatever doubts may have been raised by rationalistic Com-
mentators as to the genuineness of the two first chapters, have been
adopted in aid of their attempts to overthrow their authenticity (on
which see the next section) ; and have rested on no sufficient ground
of themselves. Their principal appeal is to Marcion, who notoriously
mutilated the Gospel, to make it favour his views of the Person of
Christ.

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introduction.] LUKE'S GOSPEL. [ch. IV.

SECTION VIII.

THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE TWO FIRST CHAPTERS.

1. If the view maintained above of the probable time of the publica-
tion of the Gospel be adopted, — and its later terminus, the publication of
the Acts two years after Paul's imprisonment at Rome began, is, I think,
beyond question, — I cannot see how any reasonable doubt can be thrown
upon the authenticity of this portion of the narrative. For there were
those living, who might have contradicted any false or exaggerated
account of our Lord's birth and the events which accompanied it. If
not the Mother of our Lord herself, yet His brethren were certainly
living : and the universal reception of the Gospel in the very earliest
ages sufficiently demonstrates that no objection to this part of the sacred
narrative had been heard of as raised by them.

2. The " accurate tracing down" of Luke forbids us to imagine that
he would have inserted any narrative in his Gospel which he had not
ascertained to rest upon trustworthy testimony, as far as it was in his
power to ensure this : and the means of ensuring it must have been at
that time so ample and satisfactory, that I cannot imagine for a moment
any other origin for the account, than such testimony.

3. If we enquire what was probably the source of the testimony, I
answer, that but one person is conceivable as delivering it, and that
person the Mother of our Lord. She was living in the Christian body
for some time after the Ascension ; and would most certainly have been
appealed to for an account of the circumstances attending His birth and
infancy.

4. If she gave any account of these things, it is inconceivable that
this account should not have found its way into the records of the
Lord's life possessed by the Christian Church, but that instead of it
a spurious one should have been adopted by two of our Evangelists,
and that so shortly after, or even coincident with, her own presence in
the Church.

5. Just as inconceivable, even supposing the last difficulty sur-
mounted, is the formation of a mythical, or in any other way unreal
account of these things, and its adoption, in the primitive age of the
Church. For the establishment of this I refer to the late Professor
Mill's able tract, On the Mythic Interpretation of Luke i. ; — in which
he has stated and severally refuted the arguments of Strauss and the
rationalists.

6. I infer then that the two first chapters of this Gospel contain
the account given by the Mother of our Lord, of His birth, and its
prefatory and attendant circumstances ; of some of which circumstances

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§ ix.] ITS STYLE AND CHARACTER, [introduction.

that in Matt. i. 18 — 25 is a more compendious, and wholly independent
account.

SECTION IX.

IT8 STYLE AND CHARACTER.

1. We might have expected from Luke's name and profession, that he
was a man of education, and versed in the elegant use of the Greek,
which was then the polite language in the Roman empire. We accord-
ingly find that while we have very numerous Hebraisms in his Gospel,
we also have far more classical idioms, and a much freer use of Greek
compounds than in the others.

2. The composition of the sentences is more studied and elaborate
than in Matthew or Mark : the Evangelist appears more frequently in
the narrative, delivering his own estimate of men and things j— e. g. ch. xvi.
14 ; vii. 29, 30 ; xix. 11 al. ; — he seems to love to recount instances of
our Lord's tender compassion and mercy ; — and in the report of His
parables, e. g. in ch. xv., is particularly simple in diction, and calculated
to attract and retain the attention of his readers.

3. In narrative, this Evangelist is very various, according to the
copiousness or otherwise of the sources from which he drew. Some-
times he merely gives a hasty compendium : at others he is most minute
and circumstantial in detail, and equally graphic in description with
Mark : see as instances of this latter, ch. vii. 14 ; ix. 29. It has been
remarked (Olshausen) that Luke gives with extreme accuracy not so
much the discourses, as the observations and occasional sayings of our
Lord, with the replies of those who were present. This is especially the
case in his long and important narrative of the journey up to Jerusalem,
ch. ix. 51 — xviii. 14.

4. On the question how far those doctrines especially enforced by the
great Apostle of the Gentiles are to be traced, as inculcated or brought
forward in this Gospel, see above in this chapter, § ii. 7.

5. In completeness, this Gospel must rank first among the four. The
Evangelist begins with the announcement of the birth of Christ's Fore-
runner, and concludes with the particulars of the Ascension : thus em-
bracing the whole great procession of events by which our Redemption by
Christ was ushered in, accomplished, and sealed in heaven. And by
recording the allusion to the promise of the Father (ch. xxiv. 49), he has
introduced, so to speak, a note of passage to that other history, in
which the fulfilment of that promise, the great result of Redemption
was to be related. It may be remarked, that this completeness, — while
it shews the earnest diligence used by the sacred writer in searching
out, and making use of every information within his reach, — forms an

Vol. I.— 49] Digitded by Google

introduction.] LUKE'S GOSPEL.

additional proof that he can never have seen the Gospels of Matthew
and Mark,— or he would (to say nothing of the other difficulties attend-
ing this view, which have before been dealt with in ch. i.) most certainly
have availed himself of those parts of their narratives, which are now not
contained in his own.

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THE FOUR GOSPELS
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

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THE GOSPEL

ACCOHDINGt TO

MATTHEW.

I. jThb book of the • generation of Jesus Christ, the^jyvi^ao.

. ftOen. lf.4i t

2 d Abraham begat u*?S\.

Jer.xxlll.S.
eGea.xll.Si

b son of David, the c son of Abraham.

Isaac; and e Isaac begat Jacob; and r Jacob begat Judas ^^

and his brethren; 8 and 'Judas begat Phares and Zara/Si**1"

' ^ eOen.xxr.lt.

fOen.xzxT.il— 10. fQen.xxxrlU.x7.

Title] Gospel, from god and speU
"good menage" or "news:" a transla-
tion of the Greek "enangetion," which
means the same. This name came to be
applied to the writings themselves which
contain this good news, very early. Justin
Martyr, in the second century, speaks of
" the memoirs drawn up by the Apostles,
which are called gospels feuangeHa)."
according to Matthew] as delivered by
Matthew, implies authorship or editor-
ship. It is not merely equivalent to of
Matthew, which would have been said, had .
it been meant. Nor does it signify that
the original teaching was Matthew's, and
the present gospel drawn up after that
teaching. Eusebius tells us, that Mat-
thew "delivered to writing the gospel
according to<him.M

Chap. 1. 1—17.1 Genealogy op Jesus
Christ. 1. book of the generation]

Not always used of a pedigree only : see
reff. Here however it appears that it
refers exclusively to the genealogy, by
" Jesus Christ " being used in the enun-
ciation, and the close being "Jesus which
is called Christ." Then ver. 17 forms a
conclusion to it, and ver. 18 passes on to
other matter. J**us] See on ver. 21.

Christ] The word is equivalent to
the Hebrew Messiah, anointed. It is
used of kings, priests, prophets, and of
the promised Deliverer. It is here used
(see ver. 16) in that sense in which it
„ Vol. I.
ft.

became affixed to Jesus as the name of
our Lord. It does not once thus occur
in the progress of the Evangelic history;
only in the prefatory parts of the Gos-
pels, here and w. 16, 17, 18: Mark i. 1 :
John i. 17, and once in the mouth of our
Lord Himself, John xvii. 3; but conti-
nually in the Acts and Epistles. This may
serve to shew that the evangelic memoirs
themselves were of earlier date than their
incorporation into our present Gospels.

son . . . son] both times refers to
our Lord. Son of David was an especial
title of the Messiah : see reff. That He
should be son of Abraham, was too solemn
a subject of prophecy to be omitted here,
even though implied in the other. These
words serve to shew the character of the
Gospel, as written/or Jews. Luke, ch. iii.
23 ff., carries his genealogy further back.

8. and his brethren] These addi-
tions probably indicate that Matt, did not
take nis genealogy from any family or
public documents, but constructed it him-
self. 3.] These children of Judah
were not born in marriage: see Gen.
xxxviii. 16—30. Both the sons are named,
probably as recalling the incident con-
nected with their birth. The reason for
the women (Thamar, Rahab, Both, and
Bathsheba) being mentioned, has been
variously assigned : it might be, to meet
the objection of the Jews to our Lord's
birth : or for the sake of minute accuracy.
B

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ST. MATTHEW.

h Bnth It. 18.

1 S 8am. xii. 14.
k 1 Kings xi.

48.
1 1 Klnf s xiv.

IS.
m 1 King* XT.

8.
n 1 Kings xr.

84.
o 1 King* xxll.

60.
p S Kings viil.

84.
ami Kings

xl.S: Xii. lit

xir. 11 : xt. 7.
r 1 Kings xt.

88.
s 1 Kings xtI.

SO.
1 1 King* xx.

11.
a 1 Kings xxi.

18.
▼ 1 Kings xxi.

30.
w see note:

and 1 Chron.

iii. 16, 16.

of Thamar; and hPhares begat Esrom; and bEsrom
begat Aram ; * and h Aram begat Aminadab ; and b Ami-
nadab begat Naasson ; and b Naasson begat Salmon ; 6 and
h Salmon begat Booz of Rachab ; and h Booz begat Obed
of Ruth ; and h Obed begat Jesse ; 6 and h Jesse begat
David the king; and l David the king begat Solomon of
her [a that had been the wife] of Unas ; 7 and k Solomon begat
Roboam ; and l Roboam begat Abia; and m Abia begat Asa;
8 and n Asa begat Josaphat ; and ° Josaphat begat Joram ;
and p Joram begat Ozias ; 9 and q Ozias begat Joatham ;
and r Joatham begat Achaz ; and ■ Achaz begat Ezekias ;
10 and * Ezekias begat Manasses ; and u Manasses begat
Amon; and TAmon begat Josias; ll and w Josias begat
Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were

* not expressed in the original.

It most probably is, that the Evangelist
omitted what was ordinary, but stated
what was doubtful or singular. It has
been suggested, that as these women are
of Gentile origin or dubious character,
they may be mentioned as introducing the
calling of Gentiles and sinners by our
Lord : also, that they may serve as types
of the mother of our Lord, and are conse-
quently named in the course of the genea-
logy, as she is at the end of it.
5. Baobab] It has been imagined, on chro-
nological grounds, that this Rachab must
be a different person from Rahab of Jeri-
cho. But those very grounds completely
tally with their identity. For Naashon
(father of Salmon), prince of Judah (1
Chron. ii. 10), offered his offering at the
setting up of the tabernacle (Num. vii. 12)
89 years before the taking of Jericho. So
that Salmon would be of mature age at
or soon after that event ; at which time
Rahab was probably young, as her father
and mother were living (Josh. vi. 28). Nor
is it any objection that Achan, the fourth
in descent from Judah by Zara, is contem-
porary with Salmon, the sixth of the other
branch : since the generations in the line
of Zara average 69 years, and those in the
line of Phares 49, both within the limits of
probability. The difficulty of the interval
of 866 years between Rahab and David
does not belong to this passage only, but
equally to Ruth iv. 21, 22 ; and is by no
means insuperable, especially when the ex-
treme old age of Jesse, implied in 1 Sam.
xvii. 12, is considered. — I may add that,
considering Rahnb's father and mother
were alive, the house would hardly be
called the house of Rahab except on ac-

count of the character commonly assigned
to her. 8. Joram . . . Oxias] Three

kings, vis. Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah
(1 Chron. iii. 11, 12), are here omitted.
Some think that they were erased on ac-
count of their connexion, by means of
Athaliah, with the accursed house of Ahab.
Simeon is omitted by Moses in blessing the
tribes (Dent, xxxiii.) : the descendants of
Zebulun and Dan are passed over in
1 Chron., and none of the latter tribe are
sealed in Rev. vii. But more probably
such eraaion, even if justifiable by that
reason, was not made on account of it, but
for convenience, in order to square the
numbers of the different portions of the
genealogies, as here. Compare, as illus-
trating such omissions, 1 Chron. viii. 1
with Gen. xlvi. 21. 1L Josias . . .

Jechonias] EUakim, son of Josiah and
father of Jechonias, is omitted ; which was
objected to the Christians by Porphyry.
The reading, which inserts Joacim (i.e.
Eliakim) rests on hardly any foundation,
and would make fifteen generations in the
second "fourteen." The solution of the
difficulty by supposing the name to apply
to both Eliakim and his son, and to mean
the former in ver. 11 and the latter in ver.
12, is unsupported by example, and con-
trary to the usage of tne genealogy. When
we notice that the brethren of Jechonias
are his uncles, and find this way of speak-
ing sanctioned by 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10, where
Zedekiah, one of these, is called his brother,
we are led to seek our solution in some
recognized manner of speaking of these
kings, by which Eliakim and his son were
not accounted two distinct generations.
If we compare 1 Chron. iii. 16 with 2 Kings

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4—18.

ST. MATTHEW.

carried away to Babylon : 12 and after they were brought
to Babylon, xJechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel x j^*^
begat Zorobabel ; 18 and Zorobabel begat Abiud ; and
Abittd begat Eliakim ; and Eliakim begat Azor ; l4> and
Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Aehim; and Achim
begat Eliud; 16 and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar
begat Matthan ; and Matthan begat Jacob ; 3fl and Jacob
begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born
Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations
from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and
from David until the carrying away into Babylon are
fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

58 Now the D birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise : ° When
as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they
came together, she was found with child of the Holy

b read, generation.

xxiv. 17, we can hardly fail to see that
there is some confusion in the records of
Josiah's family. In the latter passage,
where we have " his father's brother/' the
LXX render "his son." 12. Jecho-

nias .... Salathiel] So also the genealogy
in 1 Chron. Hi. 17. When, therefore, it is
denounced (Jer. zzii. 80) that Jechoniah
should be ' childless,' this word must be
understood as explained bj the rest of the
verse, 'for no man of his seed shall prosper,
sitting upon the throne of David and ruling
anj more in Judah.' Salathiel . . .

Zorobabel] There is no difficulty here
which does not also exist in the O. T.
Zerubbabel is there usually called the son
of Shealtiel (Salathiel). "Ezra Hi. 2, &e.
Neh. xii. 1, Ac. Hag. i. 1, Ac. " In 1 Chron.
iii. 19, Zerubbabel is said to have been
the son of Pedaiah, brother of Salathiel.
Either this may have been a different Zerub-
babel, or Salathiel may, according to the
law, have raised up seed to his brother.

IS. Zorobabel Abiud] Abiud

is not mentioned as a son of the Zerub-
babel in 1 Chron. iii. — Lord A. Hervey,
On the Qenealogies of our Lord, p. 122 if.,
has made it probable that Abiud is iden-
tical with the Hodaiah of 1 Chron. iii. 24,
and the Juda of Luke iii. 26.— On the
comparison of this genealogy with that
given in Luke, see notes, Luke iii. 28 — 88.

17* fourteen generation*] If we
carefully observe Matthew's arrangement,
we shall have no difficulty in completing
tUe tbree "fovrtttn" For the first is

0 render, For when.

from Abraham to David, of course inclu-
sive. The second from David (again in-
clusive) to the migration; which gives
no name, as before, to be included in both
the second and third periods, but which is
mentioned simultaneously with the beget-
ting of Jechonias, leaving him for the third
period. This last, then, takes in from
Jechonias to Jesus Cheist inclusive. So
that the three stand thus, according to
the words of this verse : (1) from Abraham
to David. (2) From David to the migra-
tion to Babylon, i. e. about the time when
Josiah begat Jechonias. (8) From the mi-
gration (i. e. from Jechonias) to Christ.
«. 18— 25.] Circumstances op h ib Birth.
18. espoused] i. e. betrothed. The
interval between betrothal and the con-
summation of marriage was sometimes
considerable, during which the betrothed
remained in her father's house, till the
bridegroom came and fetched her. See
Dent. xx. 7. came together] Here

to be understood of living together in one
house as man and wife. Chrysostom well
•nggests, that the conception was not
allowed to take place before the betrothal,
both that the matter might take place more
in privacy, and that the Blessed Virgin
might escape slanderous suspicion.
was found] not merely for was, as some
have said, out in its proper meaning: —
she was discovered to be, no matter by
whom. The words "of (by) the Holy
Ghost," are the addition of the Evangelist
declaring the matter of fact, and do not
2

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ST. MATTHEW.

I. 19—25.

Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not willing to make her a publick example, was
minded to put her away privily. 2° But while he thought
on these things, behold, d the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which
is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
7Knk.xxxYi. jjjgyjg . for HE shall 'save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which

d render, an.

belong to the discovery. 19. husband]
so called, though they were as yet but
betrothed : so in Gen. xxix. 21. Dent. xxii.
24. just] "and not willing" is, not

the explanation of just, but an additional
particular. He was a strict observer of the
law,— and (yet) not willing to expose her.
The sense of • kind' • merciful,' proposed
by some instead of just, is inadmissible.

privily] Not ' without any writing
of divorcement,' which would have been
unlawful ; but according to the form pre-
scribed in Deut. xxiv. 1. The husband
might either do this, or adopt the stronger
course of bringing his wife to justice openly.
The punishment in this case would have
been death by stoning. Deut. xxii. 23.

20. behold] answers to the Hebrew
" hinneh," and is frequently used by Matt,
and Luke to introduce a new event or
change of scene : not so often by Mark,
and never with this view in John,
an angel] The announcement was made
to Mary openly, but to Joseph in a dream ;
for in Mary's case faith and concurrence
of will were necessary,— the communica>
tion was of a higher kind, — and referred
to a thing future; but here it is simply
an advertisement for caution's sake of an
event which had already happened, and is
altogether a communication of an inferior
order: see Gen. xx. 3. But see on the
other hand the remarks at the close of the
notes on ver. 21. son of David] These

words would "recall Joseph's mind to the
promised seed, the expectation of the
families of the lineage of David, and at
once stamp the message as the announce-
ment of the birth of the Messiah. May it
not likewise be said, that this appellation
would come with more force, if Mary also
were a daughter of Da?id ? The addition,
"thy wife." serves to remind Joseph of
that relation which she already held by
betrothal, and which he was now exhorted
to recognize. See above on ver. 19.

21. Jesus] The same name as Joshua, the
former deliverer of Israel. Philo says,
" Jesus is, being interpreted, ' The salva-
tion of the Lord.'" He] emphati-
cally: He alone: best rendered, perhaps,
* it is He that: his people] In the
primary sense, the Jews, of whom alone
Joseph could have understood the words :
but in the larger sense, all who believe on
Him : an explanation which the tenor of
prophecy (cf. Gen. xxii. 18: Deut. xxxii.
21), and the subsequent admission of the
Gentiles, warrant. Cf. a similar use of
• Israel * by St. Peter, Acts v. 31. from
their sins] It is remarkable that in this
early part of the evangelic history, in the
midst of pedigrees, and the disturbances of
thrones by the supposed temporal King of
the Jews, we have so clear an indication
of the spiritual nature of the office of
Christ. One circumstance of this kind
outweighs a thousand cavils against the
historical reality of the narration. If I
mistake not, this announcement reaches
further into the deliverance to be wrought
by Jesus, than any thing mentioned by the
Evangelist subsequently. It thus bears
the internal impress of a message from
God, treasured up and related in its ori-
ginal formal terms.— " Sins " is not put
for the punishment of sinf but is the sin
itself— the practice of sin, in its most
pregnant sense. ' How suggestive it is,'
remarks Bishop Ellicott, ' that while to the
loftier spirit of Mary the name of Jesus is
revealed with all the prophetic associations
of more than David's glories— to Joseph,
perchance the aged Joseph^ who might
have long seen and realized his own spiri-
tual needs, and the needs of those around
him, it is specially said, thou Bhalt call his
name Jesus : for Me shall save his people
from their sins.' Historical Lectures on
the Life of our Lord, p. 56. 22. that
it might be fulfilled] It is impossible
to interpret that in any other sense than

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II. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ^ B Be-
hold, • a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us. ** Then Joseph being raised
from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him,
and took unto him his wife : M and knew her not till she
had brought forth * her firstborn son : and he called his name
JESUS.

II. l Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came * wise '

• render, the. * read, a son.

Zl«A.Til.l4.

(p**!) Dan.
ll. AcUxvi

in order that. The words "all this was
done," and the uniform usage of the N. T.,
forbid any other. Nor, if rightly viewed,
does the passage require any other. What-
ever may have been the partial fulfilment
of the prophecy in the time of Ahaz, its
reference to a different time, and a higher
deliverance, is undeniable: and then, what-
ever causes contributed to bring about all
this, might be all summed up in the fulfil-
ment of the divine purpose, of which that
prophecy was the declaration. The ac-
complishment of a promise formally made
is often alleged as the cause of an action
extending wider than the promise, and
purposed long before its utterance. And
of course these remarks apply to every
passage where the 'phrase is used. Such a
construction can have but one meaning.
If such meaning involve us in difficulty
regarding the prophecy itself, far better
leave such difficulty, in so doubtful a matter
as the interpretation of prophecy, unsolved,
than create one in so simple a matter as
the rendering of a phrase whose meaning
no indifferent person could doubt. The
immediate and literal fulfilment of the pro-
phecy seems to be related in Isa. viii. 1 — 4.
let there the child was not called Em-
manuel : but in ver. 8 that name is used
as applying to one of fur greater dignity.
Again, Isa. iz. 6 seems to be a reference to
this prophecy, as also Micah v. 8.
23. the virgin] the words are from the
Septuagint. Such is the rendering of the
LXX. The Hebrew word is the more
general term, " the young woman" and is
so translated by Aquila. they shall call]
This indefinite plural is surely not without
meaning here. Men shall call— i. e. it
shall be a name by which He shall be called
—one of his appellations. The change of
person seems to shew, both that the pro-
phecy had a literal fulfilment at the time,
and that it is here quoted in a form suited
to its greater and final fulfilment. The

Hebrew has, ' thou shalt call ' (fern.).
Emmanuel] i. e. God (is) with us.
In Isaiah, prophetic primarily of deliver*
ance from the then impending war ; but
also of final and glorious deliverance
by the manifestation of God in the flesh.
25.] With regard to the much-contro-
verted sense of this verse we may observe,
(1) That the prima1 facie impression on
the reader certainly is, that knew her
not was confined to the period of time
here mentioned. (2) That there is no-
thing in Scripture tending to remove this
impression, either (a) by narration, — and
the very use of the term, "brethren of
the Lord9* (on which see note at ch.
xiii. 55), without qualification, shews that
the idea was not repulsive : or (J) bv im-
plication,— for every where in the N. T.
marriage is spoken of in high and honour-
able terms; and the words of the angel
to Joseph rather imply, than discoun-
tenance, such a supposition. (3) On the
other hand, the words of this verse do not
require it : the idiom being justified on the
contrary hypothesis. See my Greek Test.
On the whole it seems to me, that no one
would ever have thought of interpreting
the verse any otherwise than in its primd
facie meaning, except to force it into
accordance with a preconceived notion
of the perpetual virginity of Mary. It
is characteristic, and historically instruc-
tive, that the great impugner of the view
given above should be Jerome, the im-
pugner of marriage itself: and that his
opponents in its interpretation should
have been branded as heretics by after
ages. See a brief notice of the contro-
versy in Milman, Hist, of Latin Chris-
tianity, i. 72 ff. he called] i. e. Joseph ;
see ver. 21.

Chap. II. 1—12.] Visit and adora-
tion of Magi tboh the East.
1. Bethlehem of Judaa] There was an-
other Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulun,

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ST. MATTHEW.

II.

b nS,Dn,r^ men from the b east to Jerusalem, 2 saying, Where is he
to. ob i.s. q^ ^ j)orn King- of the Jews ? for we have seen his star

near the sea of Galilee, Josh. xix. 15. The
name Bethlehem- Judah is used, Judges xvii.
7, 8, 9: 1 Sam. xvii. 12. Another name
for our Bethlehem was Ephrath; Gen.
xxxv. 19; xlviii. 7 ; or Ephrata, Micah v. 2.
It was six Roman miles to the south of
Jerusalem, and was known as ' the city
of David/ the origin of his family, Ruth
i. 1, 19. in the days of Herod]

Herod the Great, son of Antipater, an
Idamsean, by an Arabian mother, made
king of Judaea on occasion of his having
fled to Rome, being driven from his te-
trarchy by the pretender Antigonus. This
title was confirmed to him after the battle
of Actium bv Octavianus. He sought to
Strengthen his throne by a series of cruel-
ties and slaughters, putting to death even
his wife Mariamne, and his sons Alexander
and Aristobulus. His cruelties, and his
affectation of Gentile customs, gained for
him a hatred among the Jews, which
neither his magnificent rebuilding of the
temple, nor his liberality in other public
works, nor his provident care of the people
during a severe famine, could mitigate.
He died miserably, five days after he had
put to death his son Antipater, in the
seventieth year of his age, the thirty-
eighth of his reign, and the 750th year of
Rome. The events here related took place
a short time before his death, but neces-
sarily more than forty days ; for he spent
the last forty days of his life at Jericho,
and the baths of Callirrhoe, and therefore
would not be found by the magi at Jeru-
salem. The history of Herod's reign is
contained in Josephus, Antt. books xiv. —
xvii. It would be useless to detail all

the conjectures to which this history has
given rise. From what has been written
on the subject it would appear, (1) That
the East may mean either Arabia, Persia,
Chaldaa, or Parthia, with the provinces
adjacent. See Judges vi. 3 : Isa. xli. 2 ;
xlvi. 11 : Num. xxiii. 7. Philo speaks of
" the Eastern nations and their leaders
the Parthians." In all these countries
there were magi, at least persons who in
the wider sense of the word were now
known by the name. The words in ver. 2
seem to point to some land not very near
Judaea, as also the result of Herod's en-
quiry as to the date, shewn in " two
years old." (2) If we place together
(a) the prophecy in Num. xxiv. 17, which
could hardly be unknown to the Eastern
astrologers, — and (b) the assertion of
Suetonius " that there prevailed an an-

cient and consistent opinion in all the
East, that it was fated that at that time
those should go forth from Judaea who
should rule the empire*/' — and of Tacitus,
to the same effect and nearly in the same
words,— and (c) the prophecy, also likely
to be known in the East, of the seventy
weeks in Daniel ix. 24;— we can, I think,
be at no loss to understand how any re-
markable celestial appearance at this time
should have been interpreted as it was.
(3) There is no ground for supposing the
magi to have been three in number (as
first, apparently, by Leo the Great* a.d.
450} ; or to have been kings. The first
tradition appears to have arisen from the
number of their gifts: the second, from
the prophecy in Isa. Ix. 8. Tertullian
seems to deduce it from the similar pro-
phecy in Ps. lxxii. 10, for, he says, the
Magi were most commonly kings in the
East. 2. his star] There is a ques-

tion, whether this expression of the magi,
we have seen his star, points to any
miraculous appearance, or to something
observed in the course of their watching
the heavens. We know the magi to have
been devoted to astrology : and on com-
paring the language of our text with this
undoubted fact, I confess that it appears
to me the most ingenuous way, fairly to
take account of that fact in our exegesis,
and not to shelter ourselves from an ap-
parent difficulty by the hypothesis of a
miracls. Wherever supernatural agency
is asserted, or may be reasonably inferred,
I shall ever be found foremost to insist on
its recognition, and impugn every device
of rationalism or semLrationalism ; but it
does not therefore follow that I should
consent to attempts, however well meant,
to introduce miraculous interference where
it does not appear to be borne out by the
narrative. The principle on which this
commentary is conducted, is that of
honestly endeavouring to ascertain the
sense of the sacred 'text, without regard
to any preconceived systems, and fearless
of any possible consequences. And if the
scientific or historical researches of others
seem to contribute to this, my readers will
find them, as far as they have fallen within
my observation, made use of for that pur-
pose. It seems to me that the preliminary
question for us is, Have we hero in the
sacred text a miracle, or have we some
natural appearance which God in His
Providence used as a means of indicating
to the magi the birth of His Son P Dif-

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*-^

2, 3. • ** ST. MATTHEW.

in the east, and are come to worship him. s When Herod

fount minds may feel differently as to the
answer to this question. And, seeing that
much has been said and written on this
note in no friendly spirit, I submit that
it is not for any man to charge another,
who is as firm a believer in the facts
related in the sacred text as he himself
can be, with weakening that belief because
he feels an honest conviction that it is here
relating, not a miracle, but a natural ap-
pearance. It is, of course, the far safer
way, as far as reputation is concerned, to
introduce miraculous agency wherever pos-
sible : but the present Editor aims at truth,
not popularity.

Now we learn from astronomical calcu-
lations, that a remarkable conjunction of
the planets of our system took place a
short time before the birth of our Lord.
In the year of Borne 747, on the 29th of
May, there was a conjunction of Jupiter
and Saturn in the 20th degree of the
constellation Pisces, close to the first point
of Aries, which was the part of the
heavens noted in astrological science as
that in which the signs denoted the great-
est and most noble events. On the 29th
of September, in the same year, another
conjunction of the same planets took place,
in the 16th degree of Pisces : and on the
5th of December, a third, in the 15th
degree of the same sign. Supposing the
magi to have seen the first of these
conjunctions, they saw it actually in the
East ; for on the 29th of May it would
rise 3) hours before sunrise. If they then
took their journey, and arrived at Jerusa-
lem in a little more than five months (the
journey from Babylon took Ezra four
months, see Ezra vh. 9), if they performed
the route from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in
the evening, as is implied, the December
conjunction, in 15° of Pisces, would be
before them in the direction of Bethlehem,
14 hour east of tba meridian at sunset.
These circumstances would seem to form a
remarkable coincidence with the history in
our text. They are in no way inconsistent
with the word star, which cannot surely
(see below) be pressed to its mere literal
sense of one single star, but understood in
its wider astrological meaning : nor is this
explanation of the star directing them to
Bethlehem at all repugnant to the plain
words of w. 9, 10, importing its motion
from b.e. towards s.w., the direction of
Bethlehem. We may further observe, that
no part of the text reelecting the star,
asserts, or even implies, a miracle ; and
that the very slight apparent inconsis-

tencies with the above explanation are no
more than the report of the magi them-
selves, and the general belief of the age
would render unavoidable. If this sub-
eervience of the superstitions of astrology
to the Divine purposes be objected to, we
may answer with Wetstein, "We must
infer therefore tha$ these men came to
their conclusion from the rules of their
art : which though beyond all doubt futile,
vain, and delusive, might yet be sometimes
permitted to hit on a right result. Hence
appears the wonderful wisdom of God, who
used the wickedness of men to bring Joseph
into Egypt, — who sent the King of Baby-
lon against the Jews by auguries and
divinations (Ezek. xxi. 21, 22), and in this '
instance directed the magi to Christ by
astrology/'

It may be remarked that Abarbanel the
Jew, who knew nothing of this conjunc-
tion, relates it as a tradition, that no con-
junction could be of mightier import than
that of Jupiter and Saturn, which planets
were in conjunction a.m. 2365, before
the birth of Moses, in the sign of Pisces;
and thence remarks that that sign was
the most significant one for the Jews.
From this consideration he concludes that
the conjunction of these planets in that
sign, in his own time (a.d. 1468), be-
tokened the near approach of the birth of
the Messiah. And as the Jews did not
invent astrology, but learnt it from the
Chaldssans, this idea, that a conjunction
in Pisces betokened some great event in
Judaea, must have prevailed among Chal-
dssan astrologers.

It is fair to notice the influence on the
position maintained in this note of the
fact which seems to have been substan-
tiated, that the planets did not, during
the year B.C. 7, approach each other so as
to be mistaken by any eye for one star :
indeed not " within double the apparent
diameter of the moon/' I submit, that
even if this were so, the inference in the
note remains as it was. The conjunction
of the two planets, complete or incom-
plete, would be that which would bear
astrological significance, not their looking
like one star. The two bright planets
seen in the east,— the two bright planets
standing over Bethlehem, — these would
on each occasion have arrested the atten-
tion of the magi ; and this appearance
would have been denominated by them hia
star. in the east] i. e. either in the

Eastern country from which they came,
or in the Eastern quarter of the htavens.

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ST. MATTHEW.

II.

the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the

*ra.?la£». chief priests and c scribes of the c people together, he de-
manded of them where Christ should be bora. 6 And they
said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is

dMioA.r.s. written by the prophet, 6 d And thou Bethlehem, 9 [in the]
land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda :
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my
people- Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had privily called
the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the
star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and
said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and
when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may
come and worship him also. • When they had heard the
king, they departed ; and, lo, the star, which they saw in
the east, went before them, till it came and stood over
where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star,

% not expressed in the original*

to worship him] i. e. to do homage
to him, in the Eastern fashion of prostra-
tion. S. wai troubled] Josephus repre-
sents these troubles as raised by the Phari-
sees, who prophesied a revolution. Herod,
as a foreigner and usurper, feared one was
born King of the Jews : the people, worn
away by seditions and slaughters, feared
fresh tumults and wars. There may also
be a trace of the popular notion that the
times of the Messiah would be ushered in
by great tribulations. 4. when

he had gathered] i. e. says Lightfoot,
he assembled the Sanhedrim. For the
Sanhedrim consisting of seventy -one mem-
bers, and comprising Priests, Levites,
and • Israelites, under the term " chief
priests" are contained the two first of
these, and under " scribes of the people "
the third. the chief priests are

most likely the High Priest and those
of his race,— anv who had served the
office, — and perhaps also the presidents
of the twenty-four courses (1 Chron.
zziv. 6). the scribes consisted of the

teachers and interpreters of the Divine
law, the lawyers of St. Luke. But the
elders of the people are usually men-
tioned with these two classes as making
up the Sanhedrim. See ch. xvi. 21 ; xxvi.
3, 59. Possibly on this occasion the chief
priests and scribes only were summoned,
the question being one of Scripture learn-
ing. 6. And thou] This is a free
pararhrase of the prophecy in Micah v. 2.

It must be remembered that though the
words are the answer of the Sanhedrim
to Herod, and not a citation of the pro-
phet by the Evangelist, yet they are
adopted by the latter as correct,
princes] or thousands (LXX). The tribes
were divided into thousands, and the
names of the thousands inscribed in the
public records of their respective cities.
In Judges vi. 15 Gideon savs " Behold my
thousand is weak in Manasseh " (see
English version, margin), on which Rabbi
Kimchi annotates, " Some understand
Alphi to mean 'my father/ as if it
were Alluph, whose signification is * prince
or lord.' " And thus, it appears, did the
Sanhedrim understand the word (which
is the same) in Micah v. 2. The word,
without points, may mean either " among
the thousands," or " among the princes"
oat of thee shall come J It has
been remarked that the singular expres-
sion, which occurs both in Tacitus and
Suetonius (see above), "there should go
forth from Judaa," may have been derived
from these words of the LXX. 9.]

stood oyer may mean ' over that part of
Bethlehem where the young child was*
which they might have ascertained by en-
quiry. Or it may even mean, * over the whole
town of Bethlehem' If it is to be under-
stood as standing over the house, and thus
indicating to the magi the position of the
object of their search, the whole incident
must be regarded as miraculous. Bat this

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4—15.

ST. MATTHEW.

they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. n And when

they were come into the house, they saw the young child

with Mary hie mother, and fell down, and worshipped

him : and when they had opened their treasures, they

•presented unto him e gifts; fgold, and 'frankincense, ePaiA.taji.io.

and myrrh. la And being warned of God in a dream

that they should not return to Herod, they departed

into their own country another way. 13 And when they

were departed, behold, h the angel of the Lord appeareth

to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young

child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou

there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the

young child to destroy him. 14» When he arose, he took

the young child and his mother by night, and departed

into Egypt : 15 and was there until the death of Herod :

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by

k render, an.

is not necessarily implied, even if the
words of the text be literally understood ;
and in a matter like astronomy, where
popular language is so universally broad,
and the Scriptures so generally use popular
language, it is surely not the letter, but
the spirit of the narrative with which we
are concerned. 11. with Mary] No

stress must be laid on the omission of
Joseph here. In the parallel account as
regarded the shepherds, in Luke ii. 16, he
is mentioned. I would rather regard the
omission here as indicating a simple matter
of fact, and contributing to shew the
truthfulness of the narrative: — that Joseph
happened not to be present at the time.
If die meaning of the house is to be pressed
(as in a matter of detail I think it should),
it will confirm the idea that Joseph and
Mary, probably under the idea that the
child was to be brought up at Bethlehem,
dwelt there some time after the Nativity.
Epiphanius, supposes that Mary was at
this time on a visit to her kindred at
Bethlehem (possibly at a Passover) as
much as two years after our Lord's birth.
But if Mary had kindred at Bethlehem,
how could she be so ill-provided with
lodging, and have (as is implied in Luke
ii. 7) sought accommodation at an inn ?
And the supposition of two years having
elapsed, derived probably from the "two
years old " of ver. 16, will involve us in
considerable difficulty. There seems to be
no reason why the magi may not have
come within the forty days before the

Purification, which itself may have taken
place in the interval between their de-
parture and Herod's discovery that they
had mocked him. No objection can be
raised to this view from the " two years
old " of ver. 16 : see note there. The gene-
ral idea is, that the Purification was pre-
vious to the visit of the magi. Being
persuaded of the historic reality of these
narratives of Matt, and Luke, we shall
find no difficulty in also believing that,
were we acquainted with all the events as
they happened, their reconcilement would
be an easy matter ; whereas now the two
independent accounts, from not being
aware of, seem to exclude one another.
This will often be the case in ordinary life;
e. g. in the giving of evidence. And no-
thing can more satisfactorily shew the
veracity and independence of the nar-
rators, where their testimony to the main
facts, as in the present case, is consen-
tient, treasures] chests or bales, in
which the gifts were carried during their
journey. The ancient Fathers were fond
of tracing in the gifts symbolical mean-
ings : " as to the king, the gold : as to one
who was to die, the myrrh : as to a god,
the frankincense." Origen, against Celsus;
and similarly Irenseus. We cannot con-
clude from these gifts that the magi came
from Arabia, — as they were common to
all the East. Strabo says that the best
frankincense comes from the borders of
Persia.
18— S3.] Flight into Egypt.

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ST. MATTHEW.

II.

r Ho..x!.i. ^he prophet saying, *Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the
wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew
all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the
* coaste thereof, from two years old and under, according to
the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
x7 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the

hj«.xxxi. w. prophet, saying, 18hIn Rama was there a voice heard,
k [lamentation and] weeping, and great mourning, Rachel

* render, borders : see eh. iv. 13, where the word in the original is the tame. k omit.

18.] The command was immediate; and
Joseph made no delay. He must be un-
derstood, on account of " by night " below,
as having arisen the same night and de-
parted forthwith. Egypt, as near, as a
Roman province and independent of Herod,
and much inhabited by Jew*, was an easy
and convenient refuge. 15. Out of

Egypt] This citation shews the almost
universal application in the N. T. of the
prophetic writings to the expected Mes-
siah, as the general antitype of all the
events of the typical dispensation. We
shall have occasion to remark the same
again and again in the course of the Gos-
pels. It seems to have been a received
axiom of interpretation (which has, by its
adoption in the N. T., received the sanc-
tion of the Holy Spirit Himself, and now
stands for our guidance), that the subject
of all allusions, the represented in all
parables and dark sayings, was He who was
to come, or the circumstances attendant
on His advent and reign. — The words
are written in Hosea of the children of
Israel, and are rendered from the Hebrew.
— A similar expression with regard to
Israel is found in Exod. iv. 22, 23. that
it might be fulfilled must not be ex-
plained away : it never denotes the event
or mere result, but always the purpose.
18.] Josephus makes no mention
of this slaughter ; nor is it likely that he
would have done. Probably no great
number of children perished in so small a
place as Bethlehem and its neighbourhood.
The modern objections to this narrative
may be answered best by remembering
the monstrous character of this tyrant,
of whom Josephus asserts, " a dark choler
seized on him, maddening him against
all." Herod had marked the way to his
throne, and his reign itself, with blood;
had murdered his wife and three sons
(the last just about this time) ; and was
likely enough, in blind fury, to have made
no enquiries, but given the savage order

at once.— Besides, there might have been
a reason for not making enquiry, but
rather taking the course he did, which
was sure, as he thought, to answer the
end, without divulging the purpose. The
word "privily" in ver. 7 seems to favour
this view. was mocked] The Evan-

gelist is speaking of Herod's view of the
matter. the borders thereof] The

word coast* is the common rendering of
the Greek horia in the A. V. It does not
imply any bordering on a sea shore* but
is an old use for parts, or neighbourhood,
as odte in French. See margin of A. V.
the borders thereof will betoken the
insulated houses, and hamlets, which be-
longed to the territory of Bethlehem,
from two years old] This expression must
not be taken as any very certain indication
of the time when the star did actually
appear. The addition and under implies
that there was uncertainty in Herod's
mind as to the ago pointed out; and if so,
why might not the jealous tyrant, al-
though he had accurately ascertained the
date of the star's appearing, have taken a
range of time extending before as well
as after it, the more surely to attain
his point ? 17. that which was

spoken by Jeremy] Apparently, an accom-
modation of the prophecy in Jer. xxxi. 15,
which was originally written of the Baby-
lonish captivity. We must not draw any
fanciful distinction between " then was
fulfilled" and "that might be fulfilled,"
but rather seek our explanation in the
acknowledged system of prophetic inter-
pretation among the Jews, still extant in
their rabbinical books, and now sanctioned
to us by N. T. usage; at the same time
remembering, for our caution, how little
even now we understand of the full bear-
ing of prophetic and typical words and
acts. None of the expressions of this pro-
phecy must be closely and literally pressed.
The link of connexion seems to be Rachel's
sepulchre, which (Gen. xxxv. 19 : see also

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16—23.

ST. MATTHEW.

weeping for her children, and would not be comforted,
because they are not. 19 But when Herod was dead, be-
hold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph
in Egypt, 2° saying, Arise, and take the young child and
his mother, and go into the land of Israel : for they are
dead which sought the young child's life. 21 And he
arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came
into the land of Israel. 2a But when he heard that Arche-
laus did reign l in Judaea in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither : ^notwithstanding being warned
of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Gali-
lee : B3 and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth :
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the pro-
phets, ! He shall be called a Nazarene. i in note.

* render, over.

1 Sam. x. 2) was 'in the way to Beth-
lehem ;' and from that circumstance, per-
haps, the inhabitants of that place are
called her children. We must also take
into account the close relation between
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which
had long subsisted. Ramah was six miles
to the north of Jerusalem, in the tribe of
Benjamin (Jer. xl. 1 : " Er-Ram, marked
by the village and green patch on its
summit, the most conspicuous object from
a distance in the approach to Jerusalem
from the South, is certainly * Ramah of
Benjamin.'" Stanley, Sinai and Pales-
tine, p. 213; so that neither must this
part of the prophecy be strictly taken.
20. for they are dead} The plural
here is not merely idiomatic, nor for
lenity and forbearance, in speaking of
the dead; but perhaps a citation from
Exod. iv. 19, where the same words are
spoken to Moses, or betokens, not the num-
ber, but the category. Herod the Great
died of a dreadful disease at Jericho, in the
seventieth year of his age, and the thirty-
eighth of his reign, a.u.c. 750. 22.]
Aechelaub was the son of Herod by
Malthace, a Samaritan woman : he was
brought up at Rome ; succeeded his father,
but never had the title of king, only that
of Ethnarch, with the government of Idu-
diss, Judaea, and Samaria, the rest of his
fathers dominions being divided between
his brothers Philip and Antipas. But,
(1) very Kkely the word reign is here used
in the wider meaning : — (2) Archelaus did,
in the beginning of his reign, give out and
regard himself as king : (3) in ch. xiv. 9,
Herod the Tetrarch is called the King. —

m render, and.

In the ninth year of his government Arche-
laus was dethroned, for having governed
cruelly the Jews and Samaritans, who sent
an embassy to Rome against him, and he was
banished to Vienne, in Gaul. This account
gives rise to some difficulty as compared
with St. Luke's history. It would cer-
tainly, on a first view, appear that this
Evangelist was not aware that Nazareth
had been before this the abode of Joseph
and Mary. And it is no real objection to
this, that he elsewhere calls Nazareth " JZie
country,*' ch. xiii. 54, 57. It is perhaps just
possible that St. Matthew, writing for
Jews, although well aware of the previous
circumstances, may not have given them
a place in his history, but made the birth
at Bethlehem the prominent point, seeing
that his account begins at the birth (ch. i.
18), and does not localize what took place
before it, which is merely inserted as sub-
servient to that great leading event. If
this view be correct, all we could expect
is, that his narrative would contain no-
thing inconsistent with the facts related in
Luke; which we find to be the case. — I
should prefer, however, believing, as more
consistent with the fair and conscientious
interpretation of our text, that St. Mat-
thew himself was not aware of the events
related in Luke i. ii., and wrote under the
impression that Bethlehem was the original
dwelling-place of Joseph and Mary. Cer-
tainly, had we only his Gospel, this infer-
ence from it would universally be made,
turned aside must not be pressed into the
service of reconciling the two accounts by
being rendered 'returned}9 for the same
word is used (ver. 14) of the journey to

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12 ST. MATTHEW. III.

III. 1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching

Egypt. 28. that it might be fulfilled]
These words refer to the divine purpose in
the event, not to that of Joseph in bring-
ing it about. Which was spoken by
the prophets] These words are nowhere
verbatim to be found, nor is this asserted
by the Evangelist; but that the sense of
the prophets is such. In searching for
such sense, the following hypotheses have
been made— none of them satisfactory : —
(1) Euthymius says, " Do not enquire what
prophets said this : for you will not find
out : because many of the prophetic books
have perished, some in the captivities, some
by neglect of the Jews, some also by foul
play.1' So also Cbrysostom and others.
But the expression "by the prophets"
seems to have a wider bearing than is thus
implied. (2) Others say, the general sense
of the prophets is, that Christ should be
a despised person, as the inhabitants of
Nazareth were (John i. 47). But surely
this part of the Messiah's prophetic cha-
racter is not general or prominent enough,
in the absence of any direct verbal con-
nexion with the word in our text, to found
such an interpretation on : nor, on the
other hand, does it appear that an inha-
bitant of Nazareth, as such, was despised ;
only that the obscurity of the town was,
both by Natbanael and the Jews, cou-
trasted with our Lord's claims. (S) The
Nazarites of old were men holy and con-
secrated to God ; e. g. Samson (Judg. xiii.
5), Samuel (1 Sam. T. 11), and to this the
words are referred by Tertullian, Jerome,
and others. But (a) our Lord did not (like
John the Baptist) lead a life in accordance
with the Nazarite vow, but drank wine,
&c, and set himself in marked contrast
with John in this very particular (ch. xi.
18, 19); and (o) the word here is not
Nazarite, but Nazarene, denoting an in-
habitant of Nazareth. (4) There may be
an allusion to the Hebrew " Neiser," a
branch, by which name our Lord is called
in lsa. xi. 1, and from which word it ap-
pears that the name Nazareth is probably
derived. So "learned Hebrews" men-
tioned by Jerome on lsa. xi. 1, and others.
But this word is only used in the place
cited ; and in by far the more precise pro-
phecies of the Branch, Zech. iii. 8; vi. 12 :
Jer. xxiii. 5 ; xxxiii. 15, and lsa. iv. 2, the
word " Tsemach" is used. — I leave it, there-
fore, as an unsolved difficulty.

Chap. III. 1-12.] Pleaching and
baptism op John. Mark i. 1 — 8 : Luke iii.
1 — 17 (John i. 6 — 28). Here the synoptic
narrative (i. e. the narrative common to the

three Evangelists) begins, its extent being
the same as that specified by Peter in Acts
i. 22, 'from the baptism of John unto that
same day that Re was taken up from us.'
For a comparison of the narratives in the
various sections, see notes on St. Mark.
In this Gospel, I have generally confined
myself to the subject-matter. 1. In

those days] The last matter mentioned was
the dwelling at Nazareth ; and though we
must not take the connexion strictly as
implying that Joseph dwelt there all the
intermediate thirty years, "those days"
must be understood to mean that we take
up the persons of the narrative where we
left them ; i. e. dwelling at Nazareth,
oame] literally, comes forward— ' makes
his appearance.' Euthymius asks the ques-
tion, whence ? and answers it, from the
recesses of the wilderness. But this can
hardly be, owing to the "in the wilder-
ness'r following. The verb is used abso-
lutely. The title "John the Baptist" shews
that St. Matthew was writing for those
who well knew John the Baptist sb an
historical personage. Josephus, in men-
tioning him, calls him " John who is called
the Baptist." John was strictly speaking
a prophet ; belonging to the legal dispensa-
tion ; a rebuker of sin, and preacher of
repentance. The expression in St. Luke,
"the word of God came to John," is the
usual formula for the divine commission of
the Prophets (Jer. i. 1 : Ezek. vi. 1 ; vii. 1,
&c.). And the effect of the Holy Spirit on
John was more in accordance with the O.T.
than the N. T. inspiration; more of a
sudden overpowering influence, as in the
Prophets, than a gentle indwelling mani-
fested through the individual character,
as in the Apostles and Evangelists. — The
baptism of John was of a deeper signi-
ficance than that usual among the Jews
in the case of proselytes, and formed an
integral part of his divinely appointed
office. It was emphatically the baptism of
repentance (Luke iii. 8), but not that of
regeneration (Titus iii. 5). We find in
Acts xviii. 24— 26 ; xix. 1 — 7, accounts of
persons who had received the baptism of
John, who believed, and (in Apollos's case)
taught accurately the things (i. e. facts)
concerning the Lord; but required in-
struction (in doctrine), and rebaptizing in
the name of the Lord Jesus. Whether the
baptism practised by the disciples before
the Resurrection was of the same kind, and
required this renewal, is uncertain. The
feet of our Lord Himself having received
baptism from John, is decisive against the

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1—6.

ST. MATTHEW.

in the wilderness of Judsea, 8 and saying, J Repent ye : J '8^*™"
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. - 8 For this is he ne»b«T«b

nor substao*

that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, kThe {J^JJKf
voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way kl8AXL8*
of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same
John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a ] leathern 1SKin««l- ••
girdle about his loins ; and his meat was locusts and wild
honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea,
and all the region round about Jordan, 6 and were bap-

identity of the two rites, as also against
the idea derived from Acts xix. 4^ that
John used the formula " I baptize thee in
the name of Him who is to come" His
whole mission was calculated, in accord-
ance with the office of the law, which gives
the knowledge of sin (Rom. iii. 20), to
hiring men's minds into that state in which
the Redeemer invites them (ch. xi. 28),
as weary and heavy laden, to come to Him.

in the wilderness] Where also he
had been brought up, Luke i. 80. This
tract was not strictly a desert, but thinly
peopled, and abounding in pastures for
flocks. This wilderness answers to "all
the country round about Jordan " in Luke
iii. 3. See note on ch. iv. 1. 2. Bepent]
Used by the Baptist in the O.T. sense of
turning to Qod as His people, from the
spiritual idolatry and typical adultery in
which the faithless among the Jews were
involved. This, of course, included personal
amendment in individuals. See Luke iii."
10—14. Joseph us describes John as " com-
manding the Jews to practise virtue, and
justice to their neighbour, and piety towards
God, and thus to receive his baptism."

the kingdom of heaven] An expres-
sion peculiar in the N. T. to St. Matthew.
The more usual one is "the Kingdom of
Qod:" but "the Kingdom of heaven" is
common in the Rabbinical writers, who do
not however, except in one or two places,
mean by it the reign of the Messiah, but
the Jewish religion — the theocracy. Still,
from the use of it by St. Matthew here,
and in ch. iv. 17, x. 7, we may conclude
that it was used by the Jews, and under-
stood, to mean the advent of the Christ,
probably from the prophecy in Dan. ii. 44;
vii. 13, 14, 27. 3. For this is he]

Not the words of the Baptist, meaning
ufor I am he" as in John i. 23, but of the
Evangelist; -and "is" is not for "was,"
but is the prophetic present, representing
to us the place which the Baptist fills in
the divine purposes. Of for, Bengel says
well, that it gives the cause why John

then came forward, as described in ver. 1,
2, viz. because it had been thus predicted.
— The primary and literal application of
this prophecy to the return from captivity
is very doubtful. If it ever had such an
application, we may safely say that its pre-
dictions were so imperfectly and sparingly
fulfilled in that return, or any thing which
followed it, that we are necessarily directed
onward to its greater fulfilment — the an-
nouncement of the kingdom of Christ.
Euthymius remarks, that the ways and
paths of the Lord are men's souls, which
must be cleared of the thorns of passion
and the stones of sin, and thus made
straight and level for His approach.
4. And the same John] rather, now John
himself, recalling the reader from the pro-
phetic testimony, to the person of John.
As John was the Elias of prophecy, so we
find in his outward attire a striking simi-
larity to Elias, who was " an hairy man,
and girt with a girdle of leather about his
loins" 2 Kings i. 8. The garment of
camel's hair was not the earners skin with
the hair on, which would be too heavy to
wear, but raiment woven of camel's hair.
From Zech. xiii. 4, it seems that such a
dress was known as the prophetic garb:
• neither shall they (the prophets) wear a
rough garment to deceive.' locusts]

There is no difficulty here. The locust,
permitted to be eaten, Levit. xi. 22, was
used as food by the lower orders in Judaea,
and mentioned by Strabo and Pliny as
eaten by the ^Ethiopians, and by many
. other authors, as articles of food. Jerome
mentions it as the custom in the East and
Libya: and Shaw found locusts eaten by
the Moors in Barbary. (Travels, p. 164.)
wild honey] See 1 Sam. xiv. 25.
Here again there is no need to suppose
any thing else meant but honey made by
wild bees. Schulz found such honey in
this very wilderness in our own time. See
Psalm lxxxi. 16: Judg. xiv. 8: Deut.
xxxii. 13. 5.] all the region round about
Jordan means all the neighbourhood of

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ST. MATTHEW.

III.

tized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when

he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his

njS5u?M.Ml baptism, he said unto them, m O * generation of vipers, who

hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 Bring

n render, offspring.

Jordan not included in "Jerusalem and
Judssa" before mentioned. Parts of Peroa,
Samaria, Galilee, and Gaulonitis come under
this denomination. — There need be no sur-
prise at such multitudes going out to
John. The nature of his announcement,
coupled with the prevalent expectation of
the time, was enough to produce this
effect. See, as strictly consistent with this
account, chap. xi. 7 — 15. 6. were

baptised] W.hen men were admitted as
proselytes, three rites were performed —
circumcision, baptism, and oblation ; when
women, two — baptism and oblation. The
baptism was administered in the day-time,
by immersion of the whole person; and
while standing in the water the proselyte
was instructed in certain portions of the
law. The whole families of proselytes, in-
cluding infants, were baptized. It is most
probable that John's baptism in outward
form resembled that of proselytes. See
above, on ver. 1. Some deny that the pro-
selyte baptism was in use before the time
of John : but the contrary has been gene-
rally supposed, and maintained. Indeed
the baptism or lustration of a proselyte on
admission would follow, as a matter of
course, by analogy from the constant legal
practice of lustration after all unclean-
nesses: and it is difficult to imagine a
time when it would not be in use. Be-
sides, it is highly improbable that the
Jews should have borrowed the rite from
the Christians, or the Jewish hierarchy
from John. confessing their sins']

From the form and expression, this does
not seem to have been merely ' shewing a
contrite spirit,' ' confessing themselves sin-
ners,' but a particular and individual con- ■
fession; not, however, made privately to
John, but before tbo people: see his ex-
hortation to the various classes in Luke iii. *
10—15: nor in every case, but in those
which required it. 7. Pharisees and

Sadducees] These two sects, according to
Josephus, Antt. xiii. 5. 9, originated at the
same period, under Jonathan the High
Priest (B.C. 159-144). The Phabisees,
deriving their name probably from " Pa-
rash" (he separated/ took for their dis-
tinctive practice the strict observance of
the law and all its requirements, written
and oral. They had great power over the

people, and are numbered by Josephus, as
being, about the time of the death of Herod
the Great, above 6000. We find in the
Gospels the Pharisees the most constant
opponents of our Lord, and His discourses
frequently directed against them. The
character of the sect as a whole was hypo-
crisy ; the outside acknowledgment and
honouring of God and his law, but inward
and practical denial of Him; which ren-
dered them the enemies of the simplicity
and genuineness which characterized our
Lord's teaching. Still, among them were
undoubtedly pious and worthy men, honour-
ably distinguished from the mass of the
sect ; John iii. 1 : Acts v. 34. The various
points of their religious and moral belief
will be treated of as they occur in the text
of the Gospels. The Sadducees are

said to have derived their name from one
Sadok, about the time of Alexander the
Great (b.c. 323): but they were named
from the Hebrew Tsaddik, righteousness,
more probably. They rejected all tradi-
tion, but did not, as some have supposed,
confine their canon of Scripture to the
Pentateuch. The denial of a future state
does not appear to have been an original
tenet of Sadduceism, but to have sprung
from its abuse. The particular side of
religionism represented by the Sadducees
was bare literal moral conformity,, without
any higher views or hopes. They thus
escaped the dangers of tradition, but fell
into deadness and worldliness, and a denial
of spiritual influence. While our Lord was
on earth, this state of mind was very pre-
valent among the educated classes through-
out the Roman empire ; and most of the
Jews of rank and station were Sadducees.
— The two sects, mutually hostile, are
found frequently in the Gospels united
in opposition to our Lord (see ch. xvi. 1,
6, 11 ; xxii. 23, 84 ; also Acts iv. 1) ; the
Pharisees representing hypocritical super-
stition; the Sadducees, carnal unbelief,
come] It would appear here as
if these Pharisees and Sadducees camo
with others, and because others did, with-
out any worthy motive, and they were
probably deterred by his rebuke from
undergoing baptism at his hands. Wo
know, from Luke vii. 30, that the Phari-
sees in general 'were not baptized of him,'

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7—12.

ST. MATTHEW.

forth therefore fruits meet for repentance : • and think not
to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our ■ father : n jjlm rUi' **
for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise
up children unto Abraham. 10 And now • [alto] the ax is
laid unto the root of the trees : therefore ° every tree which ° SiffiJJt,
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into
the fire. n I indeed baptize you with water unto repent-
ance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost, and with fire : ia whose fan is in his
hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather

0 omit.

the wrath to eomo] The reference
of John's ministry to the prophecy con-
cerning Elks, Mai. iii. 1; iv. 6 (Mark i. 2},
would naturally suggest to men's minds
* the wrath to come ' there also foretold.
It was the general expectation of the
Jews that troublous times would accom-
pany the appearance of the Messiah.
John is now speaking in the true cha-
racter of a prophet, foretelling the wrath
soon to be poured on the Jewish nation.
8.3 therefore expresses an inference from
their apparent intention of fleeing from
the wrath to come: q.d. 'if you are
really so minded/ ... 9. think not

to smy] Not merely equivalent to "toy not :"
hut, So not nney yon may say, Ac The ex-
pression to say within yourselves, as simi-
lar expressions in Scripture (e.g. PS. x.
6, 11; xiv. 1 : Eccl. i. 16; ii. 15, al. fr.), is
used to signify the act by which outward
circumstances are turned into thoughts
of the mind. of these stones] The

pebbles or shingle on the beach of the
Jordan. He possibly referred to Isa. Ii.
1, 2. This also is prophetic, of the ad-
mission of the Gentile church. See Rom.
iv. 16 : OaL iii. 29. Or we may take the
interpretation which Chrysostom prefers,
also referring to Isa. Ii. 1, 2 : Think not
that your perishing will leave Abraham
without children: for Ood is able to
raise him up children even from stones, as
Re created man out of dust at the begin-
ning. The present tenses, "is lend"
"is cut down," imply the law, or habit,
which now and henceforward, in the
kingdom of heaven prevails: 'from this
time it is so* 11. whoso shoos, Ac.]

Lightfoot shews that it was the token
of a slave having become his master's pro-
perty, to loose his shoe, to tie the same,
or to carry the necessary articles for him
to the bath. The expressions therefore in

all the Gospels amount to the same,
with the Holy Most, and with fire] This
was literally fulfilled at the day of Pente-
cost: but Origen and others refer the
words to the baptism of the righteous by
the Holy Spirit, and of the wicked by fire.
I have no doubt that this is a mistake in
the present case, though apparently (to
the superficial reader) borne out by ver. 12.
The double symbolic reference of fire, else-
where found, e. g. Mark ix. 60, as purify-
ing the good and consuming the evil,
though illustrated by these verses, is
hardly to be pressed into the interpreta-
tion of fire in this verse, the prophecy
here being solely of that higher and more
perfect baptism to which that of John was
a mere introduction. To separate off
" with the Holy Ghost " as belonging to one
set of persons, and "with fire" as belonging
to another, when both are united in "you,"
is in the last degree harsh, besides intro-
ducing confusion into the whole. The
members of comparison in this verse are
strictly parallel to one another : the bap-
tism by water, the end of which is "re-
pentance," a mere transition Btate, a note
of preparation, — and the baptism by the
Holy Ghost and fire, the end of which is
(ver. 12) sanctjflcation, the entire aim
and purpose of man'B creation and re-
newal. ThuB the official superiority of
the Redeemer (which is all that our Evan-
gelist here deals with) is fully brought
out. The superiority of nature and pre-
existence is reserved for the roller and more
dogmatic account in John i. 13.

whoso fan, Ac.] In the Rabbinical work
Midrash Tehillim, on Ps. ii., the same
figure is found: "The winnowing is at
hand : they throw the straw into the fire,
the chaff to the wind, but preserve the
wheat in the floor ; so the nations of the
world shall be the conflagration of a fur-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

III.

his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.
poh.u.». 13 Then cometh Jesus *from Galilee to Jordan unto John,

to be baptized of him. ** But John forbad him, saying, I
have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so
now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

nace : but Israel alone shall be preserved."
his floor] i.e. the contents of the barn-
floor. Thus in Job xxxix. 12, "he will
bring home thy seed, and gather thy
barn" (literally). Or perhaps owing to
the verb (shall cleanse from one end to the
other), the floor itself, which was an open
hard-trodden space in the middle of the
field. See "The Land and the Book/' p.
538 ft% where there is an illustration.
" Very little .use is now made of the fan,
but I have seen it employed to purge the
floor of the refuse dust, which the owner
throws away as useless," p. 640.
chaff] Not only the chaff, but also the
straw : see reff. : ' all that is not wheat.'

13—17.] Jssus himself baptized bt
him. Mark i. 9—11 : Luke iii. 21, 22.
It does not appear exactly when the bap*
tism of our Lord took place. If the com-
parative age of the Baptist is taken into
account, we should suppose it to have been
about six months after this latter began
his ministry. But this is no sure guide.
The place was Bethany (the older read-
ing), beyond Jordan ; John. i. 28.
13. to be baptised] Why should our Lord,
who wag without sin, have come to a
baptism of repentance ? Because He was
made sin for us : for which reason also
He suffered the curse of the law. It be-
came Him, being in the likeness of sinful
flesh, to go through those appointed rites
and purifications which belonged to that
flesh. There is no more strangeness in
His having been baptized by John, than
in His keeping the Passovers. The one
rite, as the other, belonged to sinners —
and among the transgressors Me was
numbered. The prophetic words in Ps. xl.
12, spoken in the person of our Lord, indi-
cate, in the midst of sinlessness, the most
profound apprehension of the sins of that
nature which He took upon him. I cannot
suppose the baptism to have been sought
by our Lord merely to honour John, or as
knowing that it would be the occasion of a
divine recognition of his Messiahship, and
thus pre-ordained by God : but bond fide,
as bearing the infirmities and carrying the
sorrows of mankind, and thus beginning

here the triple baptism of water, fire, and
blood, two parts of which were now ac-
complished, and of the third of which He
himself speaks, Luke xii. 60, and the be-
loved Apostle, 1 John v. 8. — His baptism,
as it was our Lord's closing act of obe-
dience under the Law, in His hitherto
concealed life of legal submission, His
fulfilling all righteousness, so was His
solemn inauguration and anointing for the
higher official life of mediatorial satisfac-
tion which was now opening upon Him.
See Rom. i. 3, 4. We must not forget
that the working out of perfect righteous-
ness in our flesh by the entire and spotless
keeping of God's law (Deut. vi. 25), was,
in the main, accomplished during the
thirty years previous to our Lord's official
ministry. 14. forbad] Rather, tried

to hinder: the word implies the active
and earnest preventing, with the gesture,
or hand, or voice. There is only an ap-
parent inconsistency between the speech
of John in this sense, and the assertion
made bv him in John i. 33, ' I knew him
not.' Let us regard the matter in this
light : — John begins his ministry by a
commission from God, who also admo-
nishes him, that He, whose Forerunner he
was, would be in time revealed to him by
a special sign. Jesus comes to be bap-
tized by him. From the nature of his
relationship to our Lord, he could not but
know those events which had accompanied
his birth, and his subsequent life of holy
and unblamable purity and sanctity. My
impression from the words of this verse
certainly is, that he regarded Him as the
Messiah. Still, his belief wanted that
full and entire assurance which the occur-
rence of the predicted sign gave him,
which the word knew implies, and which
would justify him in announcing Him to
his disciples as the Lamb of God.
15. now] The exact meaning is difficult.
It cannot well be that which the A. V. at
first sight gives, that something was to be
done now, inconsistent with the actual and
hereafter-to-be-manifested relation of the
two persons. Rather — 'though what has
been said (ver. }4) is true, yet fa time is

Digitized by VjOOQIC

13—17.

ST. MATTHEW,

Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was bap-
tized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the q8u.?,'iki.
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw qthe Spirit of /*gn*jj-»jf
God descending like a dove P[, and] lighting upon him : • Xftf'ci?*"
*7 and lo a r voice from heaven, saving, ■ This is my x beloved £"' l8,XTlL
Son, in whom I am well pleased. ipitiw.

P omitted by some of our earliest MSS.

belong to the vain rationalistic attempt to
reduce down that which is miraculous. The
express assertion of St. Luke, and the feet
that all four Evangelists have used the
same expression, which they would not
have done if it were a mere medium of com-
parison, are surely a sufficient refutation of
this rationalizing (and, I may add, blun-
dering) interpretation. (8) Two circum-
stances may be noticed respecting the man-
ner of the descent of the Spirit : it was, as
a dove : — the Spirit as manifested in our
Lord was gentle and benign. This was not
a sudden and temporary descent of the
Spirit, but a permanent though special
anointing of the Saviour for his holy office.
It 'abode upon Sim,' John i. 32. And
from this moment His ministry and media-
torial work (in the active official sense)
begins. Immediately, the Spirit carries
Him away to the wilderness : the day of
His return thence (possibly ; but see notes
on John i. 29) John points Him out as the
Lamb of Ood : then follows the calling of
Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael, and
the third day after is the first miracle at
the marriage in Cana. But we must not
imagine any change in the nature or person
of our Lord to have taken place at his bap-
tism. The anointing and crowning are but
signs of the official assumption of the power
which the king has by a right independent
of, and higher than these. (4) The whole
narrative is in remarkable parallelism with
that of the Transfiguration. There we have
our Lord supernaturally glorified in the
presence of two great prophetic personages,
Moses and Ellas, who speak of His decease,
— on the journev to which He forthwith
sets out (ch. xvh. 22, compared with xix.
1) ; and accompanied by the same testi-
mony of the voice from heaven, uttering
the same words, with an addition accordant
with the truth then symbolized. (5) In
connexion with apocryphal additions, the
following are not without interest : When
Jesus had gone down to the water, aflame
was lit up in the Jordan : and when Se
had come up from the water, ■ lo, the
heavens, Ac. See also, my Greek Test,
on this passage.

not come for that :— as yet, now, are we
in another relation (viz. our Lord as the
fulJUler of the law, John as a minister of
it), therefore suffer it.1 "This 'now' is
spoken from the Lord's foreknowledge,
that this relation of subjection to John
was only temporary, and that hereafter
their relative situations would be in-
verted." Meyer. Stier remarks that now
was fulfilled the prophetic announcement
of Ps. xl. 7, 8. ui] not for me, but

for me and thee. I cannot help thinking
that this word glances at the relationship
and previous acknowledged destinations of
the speakers. It has however a wider
sense, as spoken by Him who is now first
coming forth officially as the Son of Man,
extending over all those whose baptism
plants them in his likeness, Bom. vi.
righteousness] requirements of the law.
See ch. vi. 1, where the sense is general,
as here. 16. baptized] On this ac-

count I would make the following remarks.

(1) The appearance and voice seem to have
been manifested to our Lord and the Bap-
tist only. They may have been alone at the
time : or, if not, we have an instance in Acts
ix. 7, of such an appearance being confined
to one person, while the others present were
unconscious of it. We can hardly however,
with some of the Fathers, say, that it
was "a spiritual beholding," — or that
"the appearance was a vision, not reality''

(2) The Holy Spirit descended not only in
the manner of a dove, but in bodily shape
(f| Luke): which I cannot understand in
any but the literal sense, as the bodily
bhapb of a dote, seen by the Baptist.
There can be no objection to this, the
straightforward interpretation of the nar-
rative, which does not equally apply to
the Holy Spirit being visible at all, which
John himself asserts Him to have been
(John L 32—34}, even more expressly
than is asserted nere. Why the Creator
Spirit may not have assumed an organized
body bearing symbolical meaning, as well
as any other material form, does not seem
clear. This was the ancient, and is the
only honest interpretation. All the mo-
dern explanations of the " like a dove," as
importing the manner of coming down,

Vol. I.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

IV.

t Mel King*

XTttt. it.
Exek.iil.14,

IV. 1 Then was Jesus Med up of the spirit into the wil-
derness to be tempted of the devil. * And when he had

vMcnott. ▼ fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an
hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said,
If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be
made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written,

wD»0T.YiH.».wj£an gi^ji not live by bread alone, but by every word

Chap. IV. 1—11.] Temptauok op
JB8U8. Mark i. 12, 13 : Luke iv. 1 — 13.
t led up of (by) the spirit] The
Spirit carried Him away, (see Acts viu. 89,)
« AwdA Aim," Mark i. 12. Had St. Luke's
"wot led in (thus literally) the Spirit9'
been our only account, we might have sup-
posed what took place to have been done
in a vision: hut the expression* in the
two other Evangelist* entirely preclude
this. The desert here spoken of may either
be the traditional place of the Temptation
near Jericho (thence called Quarantaria:
it is described in "The Land and the Book,"
p. 617, as a high and precipitous mountain,
with its side feeing the plain perpendicu-
lar, and apparently as high as the rock of
Gibraltar, and with caverns midway be-
low, hewn in the rock), or as scripture
parallelism between Moses, Elias, and our
Lord, leads one to think, the Arabian
desert of Sinai. to be tempted] The

express purpose of His being led up. Hence
it is evident that our Lord at this time was
not ' led up' of his own will and design :
but, as a part of the conflict with the
Power of Darkness, He was brought to the
Temptation. As He had been subject to
his earthly parents at Nazareth, so now
He is subject, in the outset of his official
course, to his Heavenly Parent, and is by
His will thus carried up to be tempted.
In reverently considering the nature and
end of this temptation, we may observe,
(1) That the whole is undoubtedly an oh-
jective historical narrative, recording an
actual conflict between our Redeemer and
the Power of EviL (2) That it is unde-
termined by the letter of the sacred text,
whether the Tempter appeared in a bodily
shape, or, as a spirit, was permitted to
exert a certain power, as in ver. 5, and
ver. 8, over the person of our Lord, even
as the Holy Spirit did in ver. 1. If the
latter were the case, the words spoken at
the various stages of the temptation, were
suggested by this Evil Power to the soul
of our Redeemer. But (3) such an inter-
pretation, while it cannot justly be accused
of unreality by any who oo not reject be-
lief in the spiritual world, hardly meets
the expressions of the text, " earns (ap-

proached) to him," ver. 9, and "Uaveih
him," ver. 11. Nor do the two members
of ver. 11 correspond to one another in this
case, for the angels must have been visible
and corporeal, as in the parallel case at
Gethsemane, Luke xxii. 43. 3. when

he had fasted] Not in the wider ecclesi-
astical sense of the word, but its strict
meaning, of abstaining from all food what-
ever ; Luke, ver. 2. Similarly Moses, Exod.
xxxiv. 28 ; and EUjah, 1 Kings xix. 8.
he was afterward an hungred] Then pro-
bably not during the time itself. The period
of the fast, as in the case of Moses, was
spent in a spiritual ecstasy, during which the
wants of the natural body were suspended.
8. when the tempter came] From
the words of both St Mark and St. Luke,
it appears that our Lord was tempted also
during the forty days. Whether the words
of St. Mark, "he was with the wild beasts,"
allude to one kind of temptation, is uncer-
tain : see note on Mark i. 13. — The words
"came to him" need not be understood of
the first approach, but the first recorded —
' at a certain time the tempter approaching,
Ac/ If thou he] ''thinking to be-

guile Him with his flattery," Gbrya* Or,
as Euthymius, " thinking that He would
be irritated by this address, as being re-
proached with not being the Son of God."
At all events, there is no doubt expressed,
as some think. Bon of God] Our Lord

does not give way to the temptation, so as
to meet him with an open declaration, • I
am the Son of God : ' thus indeed He might
have asserted bis lordship over him, but
not have been his Conqueror for us. The
first word which He uses against him,
reaches far deeper : ' Man shall not live,'
Ac " This, like the other text, is taken
from the history of Israel's temptation in
the wilderness : for Israel represents, in a
foreshadowing type, the Son of Man, the
servant of God for Righteousness, the one
that was to come, in whom alone that na-
ture which in all men has degenerated into
sin, 'fulfils all righteousness.9 Adam
stood not, — Israel according to the flesh
stood not, — when the Lord their God
tempted them : but rather, after Satan's
likeness, tempted their God : but now the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

1—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 6 Then the devil
taketh him up into the x holy city, and setteth him on *flx
pinnacle of the temple, 6 and saith unto him, If thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down : for it is written, y He
shall give his angels charge concerning thee : and in their j
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash
thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is
written again, *Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. *
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them ; 9 and saith unto him, All these
things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship

* render, the.

second Adam is oome, the true Israel, by
whose obedience the way of life is again
made known and opened—' that man truly
liveth on and in the eternal word of God.'
Stier's " Words of the Lord Jesus." Ob-
serve also how our Lord resists Satan a*
Hi* humanity} at once here numbering
Himself with men, by adducing "man" as
including His own case; and not only so,
but thus speaking ont the mystery of his
humiliation, in which He had foregone his
divine Power, of his own will. — By * every
word (or * thing' for the noun is not ex-
pressed in "the original) thai proceedeth out
of the mouUh of God,' we must understand,
every arra- ngement of the divine will; God,
who ordinarily sustains by oread, can, if it
please Him, sustain by any other means, as
in the case) alluded to. Compare John iv.
32, 34 6. taketh him up] power being
most probably given to the tempter over
the person of our Lord. In St. Luke, this
temptation stands third. The real order
is evidently that in the text; for other-
wise our Lord's final answer, ver. 10, would
not be in its place. It may be observed,
that St. Luke makes no assertion as to
succession, only introducing each tempta-
tion with and: whereas "then" and
" again" here seem to mark succession. For
H the holy city" see reff. setteth him

— by the same power by which he brought
Him. pinnacle] The general opi-

nion, that our Lord was placed on Herod?*
royal portico, is probably right. That por-
tico overhung the ravine of Kedron from a
dizzy height, so as to make one giddy with
looking down, as described by Josephus,
Antfc. xv. 11. 5. The argument that it was
probably on the other side, next the court,
is grounded on the perfectly gratuitous
assumption, that an exhibition to the people
was intended. There is no authority for

Neh.xi.1,18.
In. xlrfli. 1 1
lii.l. Dan.
Iz. 24. eh.

IXTil. M.

Bev.zl.St
kI.Jj nil.
lSoaly.
PsA.xel.ll,
IS.

Dbv*. vt. US.

this in the text; the temptation being one
not of ambition, but of preemption. The
inference from Susebius, who, quoting
Hegesippus, (Hist. ii. 23,) describes James
the Just as set on and thrown from the
pinnacle of the temple, among the people,
is not decisive: for this term might em-
brace either side, as * the cornice,' or ' the
parapet' would. 6. It ia written]

cited (nearly verbatim from the LXX, as
almost all the texts in this narrative) as
applying to aH servants of God in general,
and & fortiori to the Son of God : not as a
prophecy of the Messiah. 7. *g*i»l

not 'on the contrary,' which the original
word never simply means, not even in Gal.
v. 3 : 1 John ii. 8. The addition of a second
Scripture qualifies and interpret* the first ;
but doe* not refltie it. •.] The enquiry
where and what this mountain was, is en-
tirely nugatory, no data being furnished by
the text. sheweth him ail the k.

of the world] The additional words in
Luke,. " in a moment of time," are valu-
able as pointing out to us clearly the
aupernfttural character of the vision. If it
be objected, that in that case there was no
need for the ascent of the mountain, — I
answer, that such natural accessories are
mad* use of frequently in supernatural
revelations % see especially Rev. xxi. 10.
The attempts to restrict " the world " to
Palestine, (which was, besides, God's pecu-
liar portion and vineyard, as distinguished
from the Gentile world,) or the Soman
empire, are mere subterfuges: as is also the
giving to " sheweth " the sense of "points
out the direction of." In this last

temptation the enemy reveals himself openly,
as the Prince of this world, and as the
rather of lies: for though power is given
him over this world and its sons, his asser-
tion here is most untrue. 10.] Our
2

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

IV.

me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan :

*x."i?'fi'u,for it is written, *Thou shalt worship the Iiord thy God,

and him only shalt thou serve. n Then the devil leaveth

SlhSlu. him, and, behold, angels came and b ministered unto him.

.u i . u Now when r Jesus had heard that John was ■ east into

e fcta. xiv. a,

»m Acts ui. prison, ne departed into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth,

■ render, ° delivered up.

iv. 14— iz. 10. This omission is in re-
markable consistency with St. Matthew's
account of his own calling in ch. ix. 9.
Being employed in his business in the
neighbourhood of Capernaum, he now first
becomes personally acquainted with the
words and actions 'of our Lord. From
what circumstance the former miracle in
Capernaum had not attracted his atten-
tion, we cannot, of course, definitely say ;
we can, however, easily conceive. Our
Lord was not then in Capernaum ; for the
ruler sent to Him, and the cure was
wrought by word at a distance. If Mat-
thew's attention had not been called to
Jesus before, he might naturally omit
such a narrative, which John gives pro-
bably from personal knowledge. The syn-
optic narrative generally omits this whole
section of our lord's travels and ministry.
Its sources of information, until the last
visit to Jerusalem, seem to have been
exclusively Galilaan, and derived from
persons who became attached to Hkn at
a later period than any of the events re-
corded in that first portion of John's
Gospel. The objections to this view are,
the narrative, in the three Gospels, of the
baptism and temptation : but the former
of these would be abundantly testified by
John's disciples, many of whom became
disciples of Jesus; and the latter could
only have been derived from the mouth
of our Lord Himself. 12. delivered

up] This seems to have been the usual
ana well-known term for the imprison-
ment of John. The same word in the
original is also the usual one for
the betrayal and apprehension of our
Lord Himself. departed] re-

tired, withdrew; see ch. ii. 22, and note.
No notice is given whence this withdrawal
took place. The narrative is evidently
taken up after an interval, and without
any intention that it should follow closely
on ver. 11. Wieseler sees in this a proof
that St. Matthew recognized a ministry in
JudsBa during the interval. I cannot quite
think this, but certainly he does not
exclude it. 13. leaving Haaareth]

Not on account of the behaviour of the
Nazarenes to Him after the preaching in

r read, he.

Lord at once repels him openly ; not that
He did not know him before,— iut because
he had thus openly tempted Him ; but not
even this of His own power or will; He
adds, for it is written, — again, as Man,
appealing to the word of God.— From this
tune, our Lord is known by the devils, and
casts them out by a word. Mark L 24, 34;
ill. 11 ; v. 7. 11. leaveth him] but

only for a season, see || Luke. The con-
fiict, however often renewed in secret (of
which we cannot speak), was certainly
again waged in Gethsemane: see Luke
xzii. 53, compare John xiv. 80. The ex-
pression in Luke x. 18, must be otherwise
understood : see note there. minis-

tered] viz. with food, as in the case of
Elias, 1 Kings xix. 6, 7.

12—22.] Jesus begins his Ministry.
Calling- of Peter, Andbew, James,
and John. Mark i. 14—20. Luke iv.
14* 15. Between the last verse and this is
a considerable interval of time. After re-
turning from the Temptation (see note on
John i. 28, end) our Lord was pointed out
by John the Baptist, (ib. w. 29—34,)
and again on the morrow to two of his
disciples, Andrew and (probably) John,
who followed Him, and were (on the next
day P see note, John i. 44) joined by Simon
Peter (35—43) : then on the morrow Philip
and Nathanael we recalled (44—52) ; three
days after was the marriage in Cana (ii.
1 — 11); then our Lord went down to
Capernaum and remained not many days
(12); then followed, the Passover; the
cleansing of the temple (13 — 22) ; the be-
lief of many on Jesus (23—25) ; the dis-
course with Nicodemus (iii. 1 — 21); the
baptizing by Jesus (i.e. his disciples)
(22—24); the question about purifying,
and testimony of the Baptist (25—36) ;
the journey through Samaria into Galilee,
and discourse with the woman of Samaria"
(iv. 1 — 42) ; the return to Cana, and heal-
ing of the ruler's son in Capernaum
(43 — 54); and the journey to Jerusalem
related in John v. 1. After that chapter
St. John breaks off the first part of his
narrative ; and between his v. 47 and vi. 1,
comes in the synoptic narrative, Matt.
w. 12— xiv. 15 : Mark i. 14— vi. 30 : Luke

Digitized by VjOOQIC

10—18.

ST. MATTHEW.

he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea

coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim : 1* that it

might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,

saying, 15 d The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtha- *»•*•»*■ m

lim, \}by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of

the Gentiles ; 16 the people which sat in darkness saw

great light; and to them which sat in the region and

shadow of death light is sprung 'up. *7 Prom that time

Jesus began to preach, and to say, e Repent : for the king- •*•«■>» *.

dom of heaven is at. hand. 18 And Jesus, walking by the

sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon f called Peter, and'**"1'41

Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea : for they

* not expressed in the original.

preaching of repentance was of a different
character from the after-teaching of our
Lord: we recognize the same formula,
though only partly cited, in ch. z. 7 : Luke
z. 10, and find our Lord still preaching
repentance, Luke xiii. 3, after repeated

the Synagogue, Luke iv. 28, 29, as some-
times supposed; see notes, ib. ver. 31.
Capernaum] This town, on the
borders of the lake of Gennesareth, was cen-
tral in situation, and in the most populous
and frequented part of Galilee. It be-
sides was the residence of four at least
of the Apostles, Andrew and Peter, and
James and John — and probably of Mat-
thew. " Kephar Nahum," the village of
consolation. So Josephus. It is from
this time called ' Sis own city/ ch. ix. I,
see also ch. xvii. 24. 15.] This pro-

phecy is spoken with direct reference to
the days of the Messiah. It is here freely
rendered from the Hebrew, without any
regard to the LXX, which is wholly
different. This, coming so immediately
after a string of quotations literally from
the LXX, seems to mark the beginning of
a new portion of the Gospel, agreeably to
what was said before. the way

of the sea] the country round the coast
of the lake. All the members of this
sentence are in apposition with one
another : thus beyond Jordan is not a de-
scription of the land before spoken of,
which was not thus situated, out of a
different tract. The later meaning of the
phrase, as signifying the tract to the west
of the Jordan, and which naturally sprung
up during the captivity, is not to be
thought of in Isaiah, who wrote before
that event. Galilee of the Gentiles]

Galilee superior, near to Tyre and Sidon, ,
which was inhabited by a variety of na-
tions. 17. began to preach . .] That
is, began Sis ministry in Galilee. The
account of Matthew, being that of an eye-
witness, begins where his own experience
began. It is not correct to suppose, as
some of the German Commentators have
done, (De Wette, Strauss,) that this

declarations of His Messiahship.
IS. by the sea of Galilee") The lake of
Gennesareth or Tiberias (John vi. 1), called
in the O. T. " the sea of Chinnereth,"
Num. xxxiv. 11, or Chinnereth, Josh. xiL
8. It is of an oval shape, about 13 geo-
graphical miles long, and 6 broad : and is
traversed by the Jordan from w. to 8.
" Its most remarkable feature is its deep
depression, being no less than 700 feet
below the level of the ocean." See the
interesting article by Mr. Porter in Smith's
Biblical Dictionary. If we give any

consideration to the circumstances here
related, we cannot fail to see that the ac-
count in John is admirably calculated to
complete the narrative. We have there
furnished to us the reason why these two
brethren were so ready to arise and follow
One, whom, if we had this account only,
we should infer they had never before
seen. Add to this, that there is every
probability that one of the other pair of
brethren, John the son of Zebedee, is
there described as having gone with An-
drew to the dwelling of our Lord. It also
tends to confirm the chronological view
here taken, that Philip, the onlv one
mentioned expressly by John as having
been called by Jesus, is not mentioned here
as called : and that Andrew, and the other
disciple of John the Baptist, clearly were
not called by Jesus in John i. 85—40, or
the words " abode with him that dag,"
could not have been used : that these two
continued disciples of the Baptist, is not
probable; but that they were henceforth,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

IV. 19—25.

were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and
* Laker, lo. J wm make you * fishers of men. 2° And they straight-
way left their nets, and followed him. S1 And going on
from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
sa And they immediately left the ship and their father, and
followed him.

ss h And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the 'gospel of the 'kingdom,

h eh. ix. SB.

ioh ix.tti
xxiv. 14.
Mark 1.14
(various
raadin*)
onlj.

but not invariably, attached to oar Lord.
I believe that the disciple whom Jesus .
loved was in His company daring the
whole of the events in John ii. iii. iv. and
v., and on His return from Judaea with His
disciples, John having for a time returned
to his business, as our Lord was now resi-
dent in Capernaum, received, as here re-
lated, this more solemn and final call. We
most remember, that the disciples would
naturally have gone up to Jerusalem at
the Passover, John & 28, without a oaU
from the Lord, and by what they saw
there would become more firmly attached
-to bins, The circumstance related in John
xxL, that even after they were assured of
the Resurrection, the Apostles returned to
their occupation as fishermen, gives addi-
tional probability to the usual explanation
of the call in our text. 00. left their

nets, and JUlewed him] i. e. from thie
time the* mere constant follower* of the
Lord. But when He happened to be in
the neighbourhood of their homes, they
resumed their fishing ; cf. Luke v. 1 — 11,
which occurrence was, in my belief, dif-
ferent from, and later than the one related
in our text. See notes there.

S3— 9ft.] HS MUCEfi A ClBOUIT O*

GAX.n.BE. (Mark i. 89? Luke iv. 44* or-
dinarily: but qu. ? There is no neces-
sity for believing this circuit of Galilee to
be identical with those, even if we read
Galilee in the passage in Luke. Our
Lord made many eueh circuits.)
28. synagogues] These were the places
of religious assembly among the Jews
after the return from the captivity. Tra-
dition, and the Targums, ascribe a very
early origin to synagogues : and Dent,
xxxi* 11, and Ps. Ixxiv. 8, are cited as
testimonies of it. But the former pas-
sage does not necessarily imply it : and it
is doubtful whether that Psalm was not
itself written after the captivity. They
are generally supposed to have originated
in Babylon, and thence to have been

brought, at the return, into the mother
land. See Neh. viii. 1—8. At the Chris-
tian era there were synagogues in every
town, and in some larger towns several.
See Acts ix. 2, 20. In Jerusalem, accord-
ing to the Rabbinical writings, there were
upwards of 450. (See Acts vi. 9, and
note.) The people assembled in them on
sabbath and festival days, and in later
times also on the second and fifth days of
each week, for public prayer and the hear-
ing of portions of Scripture. See Luke iv.
16: Arts xiii. 15. The officers of the
Bynagogues were (1) the ruler of the syna-
gogue, Luke viii. 49 ; xiii. 14 : Acts xviik
8, 17, who had the care of public order,
and the arrangement of the service;
(2) the Elders, Luke vii. 8 : Mark v. 22 :
Acts xiii. 15, who seem to have formed a
sort of council under the presidency of the
Ruler ; (8) the legate or angel of the at-
eemblg, who was the reader of prayers, and
also secretary and messenger of the syna-
gogues ; (4) the minuter (Luke iv. 20), or
chapel clerk, whose office was to prepare
the books for reading, to sweep, open, and
shut the synagogue. Besides these, there
appear to iiave been alms-gatherers. The
synagogue was fitted up with seats, of
which the first row were an object of
ambition with the scribes (ch. xxiii. 6).
A pulpit for the reader, lamps, and a chest
for keeping the sacred books, appear to
complete the furniture of the ancient
synagogue. Punishments, e. g. scourging,
were inflicted in the synagogues. (See
ch. x. 17; xxiii. 34: Luke ix. 49: Acts
xxii. 19 ; xxvi. 11.) The catechizing also
of children seems to have taken place
there, as also disputations on religious
questions. — Our Lord was allowed to read
and teach in the synagogues, although of
mean extraction according to the flesh, A
because of His miracles, and His supposed
character as the professed leader and
teacher of a religious sect. preach-

ing the gospel] For the exact meaning of

Digitized by VjOOQIC

V. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of dis-
ease among the people. &* And his fame went throughout
all Syria : and they brought unto him all sick people that
were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those
which were possessed with devils, and those which were
Mimatick, and those that had the l palsy; and he healed
them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of
people from Galilee, and from m Deeapolis, and from Jeru-
salem, and from Jud&a, and from beyond Jordan.

T. l And seeing the multitudes, he went up into * a

11 render, the.

keh.rrU.ift

only.
Uh.Till.6i Ix.

ArtiTttl.7i

ix. 88 only.

m Mark r. 90:

viLSKuriy.

these words, compare the declaration in,
the synagogue at Nazareth, Lake iv. 16—
80. 94. Syria] Answering to "all

ike region round about QaUUe," Mark i»
28. On the possessed with devils, see note
onch.viii.28. The lunatick were probably
epileptics : see an instance in en. xvii. 14
and parallels. 8». Deeapolis] A

district principally east of the Jordan, so
called from ten cities, some of the names
of which are uncertain. beyond

Jordan] Peraa. The country east of the
Jordan, between the rivers Jabbok and
Arnon. See Jos. B. J. in. 8. 8.

Chapp. V. VI. VII.] The Sxbmoy oir
the Mount. In this form peculiar to
Matthew. Without attempting a

solution of the many difficulties which
beset the question* of time, place, and
arrangement of our Lord's Sermon on the
Mount, I shall state the principal views of
these subjects, and make some remarks
upon them. One of the weightiest ques-
tion* is, as to the identity or otherwise of
the Sermon with that given in Luke vi.
20—49. There is (I) the view that they
are identical. This is generally taken by
ordinary readers of Scripture, from their
similarity in many points. It is also taken
by most of the modern German Commen-
tators, who uniformly reject every attempt
at harmonizing by supposing the same or
similar words to have been twice uttered.
This view is, however, beset by difficulties.
For (a) the Sermon in Luke is expressly
said to have been delivered after the
selection of the Apostles : whereas that in
the text is -as expressly, by continual con-
secutive notes of time extending to the
call of Matthew, (before which the
Apostles cannot have been chosen,) placed
' before that event. And it is wholly
unlikely that St. Matthew, assuming him
to be the author of our Gospel, would
have made a discourse, which he must

have heard immediately after his call as
an Apostle, take place before that call. —
Then (b) this discourse was spoken on a
mountain,— that, after descending from a
mountain, in the plain. Possibly this
may be got over, by rendering St. Luke's
expression " on a level place." See note
on Luke: and the citation from Stanley
below. And again (c), the two discourses
are, though containing much common
matter, widely different. Of 107 verses
in Matt., Luke contains only thirty : hie
four beatitudes are balanced by as many
woee : and in his text, parts of the sermon
are introduced by sayings, which do not
precede them in Matt. (e. g. Luke vi. 89
ff., 46 ff.), but which naturally connect
with them. (II) St. Luke epitomized
this discourse, leaving out whatever was
unsuitable for his Gentile readers, e. g. cb;
v. 17 — 88. But this is improbable: for
Luke in several verses is fuller than
Matthew, end the whole discourse, as
related by him, is connected and con-
secutive. (Ill) The two discourses are
wholly ditttnat. This view is maintained
by Greswell, vol. ii. Diss, xi., and prin-
cipally from the arguments above noticed*
But it also is not without grave diffi-
culties, especially if we suppose, as most
do, that Luke had the Gospel of Matthew
before him. That two discourses wholly
distinct should contain so much in com-
mon, seems unlikely end unnatural. It is
hardly credible that two great public special
occasions should be selected by the Lord
near the commencement of His ministry,
and two discourses delivered to the same
audience, not identical, which might have
been very probable, and impressive from
that very circumstance, — nor consecutive,
nor explanatory the one of the other, but
only coinciding in fragments, and not even
as two different reports at the distance of
some years might be expected to do. Add

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

neh.xu!.» mountain : and when he was set . his disciples came unto

(from Pi. * *

^?%"i) hioa : 2 and he n opened his n mouth, and taught them,

Eph. Ti. 10. ' Job UJ. 1 al.

to this, that those parts of the discourses
in which Luke and Matthew agree, occur
in both in almost the same order, and that
the beginning and conclusion of both are
the same. (IV) St. Matthew gives a
general compendium of the sayings of our
Lord during this part of His ministry, of
which St. Luke's discourse formed a por-
tion, or perhaps was another shorter com-
pendium. But the last stated objection
applies with still greater force to this
hypothesis, and renders it indeed quite
untenable. Besides, it labours under the
chronological difficulty in all its bearings.
And to one who has observed throughout
the close contextual connexion of the
parts in this discourse, it will be quite
incredible that they should be a mere
collection of sayings, set down at hazard.
See notes throughout. (V) The apparent
discrepancies are sometimes reconciled by
remembering, that there is no fixed time
mentioned in any Evangelist for the special
ordination of the Apostles, and that it is
very doubtful whether they were at any
set moment so ordained all together.
ThuB Matthew may have been a usual
bearer of our Lord, and present with the
whole of the Apostles, as related in Luke,
though not yet formally summoned as
related in Matt. ix. 9 ff. The introduction
of the discourse in Luke by the words
"And it oame to pass in those days"
(which I maintain to be, on Luke vi. 12,
not only possibly, but expressly indefinite,
and to indicate that the event so intro-
duced may have happened at any time
during the current great period of our
Lord's ministry, before, during, or after,
those last narrated,) allows us great
latitude in assigning Luke's discourse to
any precise time. This, however, leaves
the difficulties (above stated under I) in
supposing the discourses identical, in force,
except the chronological one. — With re-
gard to the many sayings of this sermon
which occur, dispersed up and down, in
Luke, see notes in their respective places,
which will explain my view as to their
connexion and original times of utter-
ance, in each several instance. See also
notes on Luke vi. 20—49. 1. the

mountain] Either some hill near Caper-
naum well known by this name, and called
by it in the reff. to Mark and Luke, (tra-
dition, not earlier probably than the Cru-
sades, which points out a hill between
Capernaum and Tiberias as the Mount of

Beatitudes, near the present Saphet, is in
such a matter worthless as an authority.
But the situation seems to modern travel-
lers [see Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p.
868] "so strikingly to coincide with the
intimations of the gospel narrative, as
almost to force the inference that in this
instance the eye of those who selected the
spot was for once rightly guided. It is
the only height seen in this direction from
the shores of the lake of Oennesareth. The
plain on which it stands is easily accessible
from the lake, and from that plain to the
summit is but a few minutes' walk. The
platform at the top is evidently suitable
for the collection of a multitude, and cor-
responds precisely to the 'level place' to
which He would ' come down ' as from one
of its higher horns to address the people.
Its situation is central both to the pea-
sants of the Galilffian hills, and the fisher-
men of the Galitoan lake, between which
it stands, and would therefore be a na-
tural resort both to Jesus and His dis-
ciples when they retired for solitude
from the shores of the sea, and also to the
crowds who assembled ' from Galilee, from
Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Judaea,
and from beyond Jordan.' None of the
other mountains in the neighbourhood
could answer equally well to this descrip-
tion, inasmuch as they are merged into
the uniform barrier of hills round the
lake: whereas this stands separate — 'the
mountain,' which alone could lay claim
to a distinct name, with the exception of
the one height of Tabor, which is too dis-
tant to answer the requirements,") or the
mountain district, certainly imported by
the word in ch. xiv. 28.— See a full descrip-
tion of the locality in Tholuck, Bergpredigt,
ed. 8, pp. 68 ff. his disoiples] in the

wider sense : including those of the Apos-
tles already called, and all who had, either
for a long or a short time, attached them-
selves to him as hearers. See John vi. 66.
2. opened his month] as in reff., a
solemn introduction to some discourse or
advice of importance. them] i. e. his

disciples. The discourse (see w. 18, 14,
20, 48; ch. vi. 9; vii. 6) was spoken
directly to the disciples, but (see vii. 28,
29) also generally to the multitudes. It
is a divine commentary on the words with
which His own and the Baptist's preach-
ing opened : " Repent : for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." It divides itself
into various great sections, which see below.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

2—7.

ST. MATTHEW.

saying, 8 Blessed are the °poor in spirit : for their's is the °£°T££;L
kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that * mourn : for pLa.ixi.s.s.
they shall be comforted. 6 Blessed are the * meek : for they « *■*•*****•
shall inherit the earth. 8 Blessed are they which do hun-
ger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for r they shall obtain mercy. rP,AXlL1-

8 — 16.1 The Dbsobiption o* thb
Lord's Disciples, theib Blessedness,
ajtd Dicuqtt. 3. the poor in spirit]

" He said not, the poor in possessions, bnt
' in spirit :' i. e. the lowlyin purpose and
in soul." Euthymius. "What is 'the poor
in spirit?' the humble and contrite in
heart." Chrys.— The meaning of volun-
tary poverty, as that of the religious
orders, given by some of the Fathers, and
by many Romish interpreters, is out of the
question. As little can the bare literal
sense of the words, which Julian scoffed
at, be understood : viz. those who are UU
furnished im mind, and uneducated. See
Rev. iii. 17. The idea (De Wette) is not
improbable, that our Lord may have had
a reference to the poor and subjugated
Jewish people around him, once members
of the theocracy, and now expectants of
the Messiah's temporal kingdom; and,
from their condition and hopes, taken
occasion to preach to them the deeper
spiritual truth. their** is the king-

tan of heaven] See Luke iv. 17—21:
James ii. 5. The kingdom must here be
understood in its widest sense: as the
combination of all rights of Christian
citizenship in this world, and eternal
blessedness in the next, ch. vi. 38. But
Tholuck well observes, that all the senses
of " the kingdom of God," or "of heaven,"
or " of Christ" are only different sides of
the same great idea— the subjection of all
thing* to God in Christ. 4.J The

spiritual qualification in the former verse
must be carried on to this, and the mourn-
ing understood to mean not only that on
account of sin, but all such ae happens to
a man in the spiritual life. Ail such
mourners are blessed : for the Father of
mercies and God of all consolation being
their covenant God, His comfort shall
overbear all their mourning, and taste the
sweeter for it. In Luke iL 26, the Mes-
siah's coming is called " the consolation of
Israel." — This beatitude is by many edi-
tors placed after ver. 5. But the autho-
rity is by no means decisive, and I cannot
see how the logical coherence of the sen-
tence is improved by it. — In placing these
two beatitudes first, the Lord follows the
order in Isa. bri. 1, which He proclaimed

in the synagogue at Nazareth, Luke iv. 18.

6. the meek] A citation from Ps.
xxxvii. 11. The usual dividers and al-
lotters of the earth being mighty and
proud conquerors, and the Messiah being
expected as such a conqueror, this an*
nouncement that the meek should inherit
the earth, struck at the root of the tem-
poral expectations of power and wealth
in the Messiah's kingdom. This meek-
ness is not mere outward lowliness of de*
meanour, but that true meekness of Eph.
iv. 2, whose active side is love, and its
passive side long-suffering. On the pro-
mise, compare Isa. lvii. 13 — 15; lx. 21;
1 Cor. iii. 22. That kingdom of God
which begins in the hearts of the disciples
of Christ, and is not "of (sprung from)
this world," shall work onwards till it
shall become actually a kingdom over this
earth, and its subjects shall inherit the
earth: first in its millennial, and finally
in its renewed and blessed state for ever.

6.] See Ps. cvii. 9; lxv. 4; xxii.
26 : Isa. xli. 17. This hunger and thirst
is the true sign of that new life on which
those born of the Spirit (John iii. 3, 6)
have entered ; and it is after righteousness,
i. e. perfect conformity to the holy will of
God. This was Sis meat, John iv. 34.
They shall be satisfied — in the new heaven
and new earth, in which dwelleth righte-
ousness, 2 Pet. iii. 13. Compare the
remarkable parallel Ps. xvii. 15. This
hunger and thirst after righteousness, is
admirably set forth in the three first
petitions of the Lord's prayer, — « Hallowed
be Thy name-*-Thy kingdom come — Thy
will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.'
7. merciful] "We may shew
mercy, not by alms only, but by words:
and if we have no other way, by tears.
For manifold is the form of mercy, and
wide is this command : They shall obtain
mercy, here, from men; and there, from
God, Euthymius, expanding Chrysostom.
This beatitude comprises every degree of
sympathy and mutual love and help; from
that fulness of it which is shed abroad in
those who have been forgiven much, and
therefore love much, — down to those'
first beginnings of the new birth, even
among those who know not the Lord,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

iPa.xxlr.li,

8 Blessed are the "pure in heart: for they shall see God*

9 Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called T the
children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness* sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. n Blessed are ye, when men shall revile yon,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake. 1S Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so perse-
cuted they the prophets which were before you. 18 Ye

T render ', SOUS.

See 1 Bet. Hi. 14; iv. 14, which probably
refers to this verse. The repetition of the
promise in ver. 8 is a close of the string of
promises as it began. 11.] With the

preceding Terse the beatitudes end, in their
general reference, and in this oar Lord ad-
dresses Sis disciples particularly. The
actions described in tins verse are the ex-
pansion of persecuted in the last
18. your reward] A reward, not of debt,
but of grace, as the parable in ch. xx. 1 If.
clearly represents it. ' An expression,' as
De Wette observes, « taken from our earthly
commerce, and applied to spiritual things ;*
in which however we must remember, that
the principal reference is to God as the
giver, and not to us as the deservers : see
the parable above cited, where the reward
is not what was earned, but what was cove-
nanted. These words, in heaven, must not
be taken as having any bearing on the
question as to the future habitation of the
glorified saints. Their use in this and
similar expressions is not local, but spiri-
tual, indicating the blessed state when the
kingdom of heaven shall have rally come.
The local question is to be decided by
wholly different testimonies of Scripture; —
by the general tenor of prophecy, and the
analogies of the divine dealings : and all of
these seem to point rather to this earth,
purified and renewed, than to the heaven*
in any ordinary sense of the term, as the
eternal habitation of the blessed,
so persecuted they] For instance, Jere-
miah was scourged, Jer. xx. 2 ; Zechariah
son of Jehoiada was stoned, 2 Chron. xxiv.
21 ; Isaiah, according to Jewish tradition,
was sawn asunder by Manasseh. — The
reasoning implied in 'for' may be thus
filled up : "and great will be their reward
in heaven." 13.] The transition from

the preceding verses is easy and natural,
from the " persecuted for righteousness*
sake" of which w. 11, 12 were a sort of
application, and the allusion to the ancient
Prophets, to "ye are the salt of the
ear**."— Elisha healed the unwholesome

which are brought out in ch. xxv.
87—40, where see notes. 8.

pure In heart] See Pa. xxiv. 4, 6. It
is no Levitical cleanness, nor mere moral
purity, that is here meant; but that inner
purify, which (Acts xv. 9) is brought about
by faith, has its fruit (1 Tim. L 6) in love;
which is opposed to all " double minded*
ness " (James i. 8), and all hypocrisy and
outward colouring; so that the pure in
heart are those who have their "hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience" There
is an allusion to the nearer vision of God
attained by progressive sanctification, of
which St. Paul speaks, 2 Cor. iii. 18, —
begun indeed in this life, but not per-
fected till the next, 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
0. peacemakers] More than 'the peace-
ful* (Vulg.). It is doubtful whether the
word ever has this meaning. Thus Euthy-
mius, mostly after Chrysostom : They who
not only are themselves not men of strife,
but make peace between others when at
strife. They shall be called sons of God,
because they have imitated His only Son;
whose office it is to bring together the
separated and to reconcile those at vari-
ance. But even thus we do not seem to
reach the full meaning, which probably is,
"they that work peace;" not confining
the reference to the reconciliation of per-
sons at variance: see note on James iii.
18. shaU be called] implies the

reality, as in ver. 19 ; shall (not only be,
but also) be called, i. e. recognized, in the
highest sense, both generally, and by the
Highest Himself, as such. Let it ever be
remembered, according to the order of
these beatitudes, and the assertion of James
iii. 17, that the wisdom from above is first
pure, then, peaceable, implying no compro-
mise with evil. And it is in the working
out of this purity that Luke xii. 51 is espe-
cially true. St. Augustine remarks, that
martyrs are made not by the mere fact of
suffering, but by the cause for which they
suffer. And therefore it is added, 'for
righteousness* sake.' 10. peraecuted]

Digitized by VjOOQIC

8— 15.

ST. MATTHEW.

are the salt of the earth : but * if the salt have lost his sa-
vour, wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under

tMsrkix.50.
LukexiT.R

foot of men. 14aYe are the light of the world.

that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 v Neither do men

A citynPhn.u.i«.

* t Mark itr. n.

Luke TiiL Us
XL88.

water by means of salt (2 Kings ii. 20),
and the ordinary use of Bait for culinary
purposes is to prevent putrefaction: so
(see Gen. xviii. 23 — 33) are the righteous,
the people of God, in this corrupt world.
It hardly seems necessary to find
instances of the actual occurrence of salt
losing its savour, for this is merely hypo-
thetical. Yet it is perhaps worth noticing,
that Maundrell, in his travels, found salt in
the Valley of Salt, near Gehul, which had
the appearance, but not the taste, having
lost it by exposure to the elements (see
the citation below); — and that Schftttgen
maintains that a kind of bitumen from the
Dead Sea was called 'salt of Sodom/ and
was used to sprinkle the sacrifices in the
temple; which salt was used, when its
savour was gone, to strew the temple pave-
ment, that the priests might not slip. This,
however, is but poorly made out by him.
Dr. Thomson, 'The Land and the Book/
p. 381, mentions a case which came under
his own observation : where a merchant of
Sidon had stored up a quantity of salt in
cottages with earthern floors, in conse-
quence of which the salt was spoiled, and'
Dr. T. saw "large quantities of it literally
thrown into the street, to be trodden under
foot of men and beasts/' He adds, " It is
a well-known fact that the salt of this
country, when in contact with the ground,
or exposed to rain and sun, does Decorne
insipid and useless. From the manner in
which it is gathered, much earth and
other impurities are necessarily collected
with it. Not a little of it is so impure
that it cannot be used at all : and such
salt soon effloresces and turns to dost —
not to fruitful soil, however. It is not only
good for nothing itself, but it actually de-
stroys all fertility wherever it is thrown :
and this is the reason why it is cast into
the street." the earth means man-

kind, and all creation : but with a mora
inward reference, as to the working of the
salt, than in " the world," ver. 14, where
the light is something outwardly shewn.
shall it be salted] it, i.e.
the salt. The sense is : 'If you become
untrue to your high calling, and spiritually
effete and corrupted, there are no ordinary
means by which you can be re-converted
and brought back to your former state,
inasmuch as you have no teachers and
guides over you, but ought yourselves to

be teachers and guides to others/ But
we must not from this suppose that our
Lord denies all repentance to those who
have thus fallen : the scope of His saying
must be taken into, account, which is not
to crush the fallen, but to quicken the
sense of duty, and cause His disciples to
walk worthily of their calling. (See Heb.
vi. 4—6, and note on Mark ix. 49, 50.)
The salt in the sacrifice is the
type of God's covenant of sanotification,
whereby this earth shall be again hallowed
for Him : His people are the instrument*,
in His hand, of this wholesome salting: all
His servants in general, but the teachers
and ministers of His covenant in particular.
There does not appear to be any allusion
to ecclesiastical excommunication.
14. the light of the world] And yet only
in a lower and derivative sense; Christ
Himself being "the true light which light-'
eth every man," John i. 9 ; " the light of
the world/' viii. 12. His ministers are
"candles," John v. 35, and "lights," Phil,
ii. 15, receiving their light, and only burn-
ing/or a time : lights lighted, whereas He
is the Light lighting, as Augustine. And
here too, light in this verse = candle in
ver. 15, where the comparison is resumed.
So also Eph. v. 8 :— light, as partaking of
Mis Light: for every thing lighted (see
note, ib. ver. 13) is light oannot

be hid] Of course it is possible that
our Lord may have had some town before
Him thus situated, but not Bethulia,
whose very existence is probably fabu-
lous, being only mentioned in the apocry-
phal book of Judith. Recent travellers,
as Dr. Stanley and Thomson* (Sinai and
Palestine, p. 429 : The Land and the Book,
p. 278), have thought that, notwithstand-
ing the tact shewn by Robinson, that the
actual city of Safed was not in existence
at this time, some ancient portion of it,
at all events its fortress, which is * as aged
in appearance as the most celebrated ruins
in the country ' (Thomson), may have been
before the eve of our Lord as He spoke.
It is ' placed high on a bold spur of the
Galilaan Anti-Lebanon/ and answers well
to the description of a city « lying on the
mountain top/ * The only other in view
would be the village and fortress of Tabor,
distinctly visible from the mount of Beati-
tudes, though not from the hills on the
lake side. Either or both of these would

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST, MATTHEW.

light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle-
stick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

wip«t.ii.n. 16 JjqI your light so shine before men, that they may wsee
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law,

xRom.x.4. or the prophets : x I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

yLukaxTi.i7. is j?or verily I say unto you, y Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till

suggest the illustration, which would be
more striking from the fact, that th's
situation of cities on the tops of the hills
is as rare in Galilee, as it is common in
Judssa.' Stanley, as above. But the
Church of God, the city on a hill (Isa.
ii. 2: Gal. iv. 26 : see also Heb. xii. 22)r
in allusion to their present situation, on
a mountain, is most probably the leading
thought. 15. do men light] literally,

do they light : shewing, in the spiritual re-
ference of the parable, that these lights of
the world are ' lighted ' by Him for whose
use they are. See above. 16. so]

i. e. like a candle on a candlestick — like
a city on a hill ; not merely, * so ... «
* that,* as our English version seems rather
to imply. By rendering in like man-
ner, the ambiguity will be avoided. The
sense of this verse is as if it were " that,
seeing your good works they may $c"
.... the latter verb, and not the former,
carrying the purpose of the action. Thus
the praise and glory of a well-lighted and
brilliant feast would be given, not to the
lights, but to the master of the house;
and of a stately city on a hill, not to the
buildings, but to those who built them.
The whole of this division of our
Lord's sermon is addressed to all His fol-
lowers, not exclusively to the ministers of
his word. All servants of Christ are the
salt of the earth, the light of the world
(Phil. ii. 15). And all that is here said ap-
plies to us all. But a fortiori does it apply
in its highest sense, to those who are, among
Christians, selected to teach and be exam-
ples; who are as it were the towers and
pinnacles of the city, not only not hid, but
seen far and wide above the rest.
17 — 48.] The bicokd past of this ser-
mon, in which our Lord sets forth His
relation, as a lawgiver, to the law of
Moses, especially as currently interpreted
according to the letter only. 17.

I am corns] more properly, I came. Ob-
serve how our Lord, through the whole
sermon, sets forth Himself, in his proceed-
ing forth from God, as truly "He that was
to come" the law, or the pro-

phets] It is a question whether our Lord
includes the prophecies, properly so called,

in His meaning here. I think not : for no
person professinff himself to be the Messiah
would be thought to contradict the pro*
phecies, but to fulfil them. Neither, it
appears, does He here allude to the sacri-
ficial and typical parts of the law, but to
the moral parts of both the law and the
prophets; which indeed he proceeds to
cite and particularize. If however we
prefer to include both ceremonial and
moral in this assertion, we may under-
stand it in its more general sense, as ap-
plying, beyond the instances here given,
to His typical fulfilment of the law, which
could not as yet be unfolded.
to fulfill This verb implies more than the
mere fulfilling : it has the sense of filling
oat or expanding: i.e. here, giving a
deeper and holier sense to— fulfilling in
the spirit, which is nobler than the letter.
Theophylact compares the ancient law to a
sketch, which the painter does not wipe
out, but fills in. The gnostic Marcion cha-
racteristically enough maintained that the
Judaizing Christians had altered this verse,
and that it originally stood,— think ye that I
came tofulfil, Slc. ? I came to destroy, not
to fulfil. 18. verily] literally. Amen :

equivalent to " truly" in St. Luke, ix. 27 ;
xii. 44; xxi. 3. jot (Iota) is the Hebrew
Jod, the smallest letter in the alphabet : tit-
tles, literally horns, horn-like projections,
are the little turns of the strokes by which
one Hebrew letter differs from another simi-
lar toit. The Rabbinical writings have many
sayings similar in sentiment to this, but
spoken of the literal written law. It

is important to observe in these days how
the Lord here includes the O. T. and all
its unfolding of the divine purposes re*
yarding Himself, in His teaching of the
citizens of the kingdom of heaven. I
say this, because it is always in contempt
and setting aside of the O. T. that ra-
tionalism has begun. First, its historical
truth — then its theocratic dispensation and
the types and prophecies connected with
it, are swept away ; so that Christ came to
fulfil nothing, and becomes only a teacher
or a martyr: and thus the way is paved
for a similar rejection of the N. T. ; —
beginning with tne narratives of the birth

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16—20.

ST. MATTHEW.

all be fulfilled. w Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall
be called the least in the kingdom of heaven : but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the king-

and infancy, as theocratic myths— ad-
vancing to the denial of His miracles —
then attacking the truthfulness of His own
sayings which are grounded on the O. T.
as a revelation from God — and so finally
leaving us nothing in the Scriptures but,
as a German writer of this school has ex-
pressed it, 'a mythology not so attractive
as that of Greece/ That this is the course
which unbelief has run in Germany, should
be a pregnant warning to the decriers of
the O. T. among ourselves. It should be a
maxim for every expositor and every stu-
dent, that Scripture is a whole, and stands
or mils together. That this is now begin-
ning to be deeply felt in Germany, we have
cheering testimonies in the later editions
of their best Commentators, and in the
valuable work of 8 tier on the discourses of
our Lord. [Since however these words
were first written, we have had lamentable
proof in England, that their warnings
were not unneeded. The course of unbe-
lief which has issued in the publication of
the volume entitled " Essays and Reviews,"
has been in character and progress, exactly
that above described: and owing to the
injudicious treatment which has multiplied
tenfold the circulation of that otherwise
contemptible work, its fallacies are now
in the hands and mouths of thousands,
who, from the low standard of intelligent
Scriptural knowledge among us, will never
have the means of answering them. 1862.
To this it may now be added, that even a
Bishop of the Church of England has come
before the world as a champion of that un-
belief in its first phase as described above.
We may hope that his work, judging from
the blunders already detected in the ren-
derings of Hebrew words on which his ar-
guments are founded, will soon be added
to the catalogue of attacks by which the
enemies of our holy faith have damaged
nothing save their own reputation and
influence. 1868.] 19.] There is

little difficulty in ' this verse, if we con-
sider it in connexion with the verse pre-
ceding* to which it is bound by the
therefore and the these, and with the fol-
lowing, to which the for (ver. 20) unites it.
Bearing this in mind, we see (1) that
break, on account of what follows in ver.

20 and after, must be taken in the higher
sense, as referring to the spirit and not
the letter : whosoever shall break (have
broken), in the sense presently to be laid
down. (2) That these least command-
ments refers to one jot or tittle above,
and means one of these minute commands
which seem as insignificant, in comparison
with the greater, as the jot and tittle in
comparison with great portions of writing.
(8) That shall be called least does not
mean ' shall be excluded from,' inasmuch
as the Question is not of keeping or not
keeping the commandments of God in a
legal sense, but of appreciating, and caus-
ing others to appreciate, the import and
weight of even the most insignificant parts
of God's revelation of Himself to man ; and
rather therefore applies to teachers than
to Christians in general, though to them
also through the "break" and "do."
(4) That no deduction can be drawn from
these words, binding the Jewish law, or
any part of to, as such, upon Christians.
That this is so, is plainly shewn by what
follows, where our Lord proceeds to pour
upon the letter of the law the fuller light
of the spirit of the Gospel : thus lifting
and expanding (not destroying) every jot
and tittle of that precursory dispensation
into its full meaning in the life and prac-
tice of the Christian; who, by the in-
dwelling of the divine Teacher, God's Holy
Spirit, is led into all truth and purity.
(6) That these words of our Lord are
decisive against such persons, whether
ancient or modern, as would set aside the
Old Testament as without significance, or
inconsistent with the New. See the pre-
ceding note, and the Book of Common
Prayer, Article vii. On shall be

called, see note on ver. 9. 90.] An

expansion of the idea contained in fulfil,
ver. 17, and of the difference between
break, which the Scribes and Pharisees
did by enforcing the letter to the neglect
of the spirit — and do and teaeh, in which
particulars Christians were to exceed the
Pharisees, the punctilious observers, and
the Scribes, the traditional expounders of
the law. righteousness, purity of

heart and life, as set forth by example in
the doing, and by precept in the teaching.

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ST. MATTHEW.

dom of heaven. S1 Ye have heard that it was said by them

1 dmc!:^1** of old time, * Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill

shall be in danger of the judgment : ** but I say unto you,

The whole of the rest of our Lord's sermon
is a comment on, and illustration of, the
assertion in this verse. soribes] Per-

sons devoted to the work of reading and
expounding the law, whose office seems
first to have become frequent after the
return from Babylon. They generally ap-
pear in the N. T. in connexion with the
Pharisees : but it appears from Acts xxiii. 9,
that there were Scribes attached to the
other sects also. In Matt. xxi. 16, they
appear with the chief priests ; but it is in
the temple, where (see also Luke xx. 1)
they acted as a sort of police. In the de-
scription of the assembling of the great
Sanhedrim (Matt. xxvi. 3 : Mark xiv. 53 ;
xv. 1) we find it composed of chief priest*,
elders, and Soribes : and in Luke xxii. 66,
of chief priests and Scribes, The Scribes
uniformly opposed themselves to our Lord;
watching Him to find matter of accusa-
tion, Luke vi. 7 ; xi. 63, 54 ; perverting
His sayings, Matt. ix. 3, and His actions,
Luke v. 30 ; xv. 2 ; seeking to entangle
Him by questions, Matt. xxii. 35 (see note
there) ; Luke x. 26 j xx. 21 ; and to em-
barrass Him, Matt. xii. 38. Their autho-
rity as expounders of the law is recognised
by our Lord Himself, Matt, xxiii. 1, 2;
their adherence to the oral traditionary
exposition proved, Matt. xv. 1 if. ; the re-
spect in which they were held by the people
shewn, Luke xx* 46 ; their existence in-
dicated not only in Jerusalem, but also in
Galilee, Luke v. 17, — and in Rome, Jo-
sephus, Antt. xviii. 3. 5. They kept schools
and auditories for teaching the vouth,
Luke ii. 46; Acts v. 34 compared with
xxii. 3 ; are called by Josephus expounders
of our patriarchal laws, Antt. xvii. 6. 2 ;
sophists, B. J. L 33. 2. The literal ren-
dering is "shall abound mora than the
Scribes and Pharisees/' i.e. more than
that of the S. and P. Notice, that not
only the hypocrites among the Scribes
and Pharisees are here meant; but the
declaration is, "Your righteousness must
be of a higher order than any yet attained,
or conceived, by Scribe or Pharisee."
ye shall in no eaaa enter, Ac] A very
usual formula (see ch. vit. 21 ; xviii. 3 ;
xix. 17, 23, 24 : John Hi. 5 al.) ; implying
exclusion from the blessings of the Chris-
tian state, and from the inheritance of
eternal life. 21—48.] Six examples

of the true fulfilment of the law by
Jesus.— Fibst example. The lorn of
murder. 21. Ye have heard] viz. by *

the reading of the law in the synagogues,

and the expositions of the Scribes.
by them of old time] In this case, Moses
and his traditional expounders are classed
together; but the words may also be ren-
dered, ' to the ancients,'— which last inter-
pretation seems to me to be certainly the
right one. Meyer has well observed that
" it was said to them of old time" corre-
sponds to "but I say to you," and the
" 1 " to the understood subject of " was
said." He has not, however, apprehended
the deeper truth which underlies the omis-
sion of the subject of was said, that it was
the same person who said both. It will
be noticed that our Lord does not here
speak against the abuse of the law by
tradition, but that every instance here
given is either from the law itself, or such
traditional teaching as was in accordance
with it (e. g. the latter part of this verse is
only a formal expansion of the former).
The contrasts here are not between the
law misunderstood and the law rightly aa-
derstood, but between the law and its
ancient exposition, which in their letter,
and as given, were empty, — and the same
as spiritualized, fulfilled, by Christ : not be-
tween two lawgivers, Moses and Christ, but
between they of old time and yon; between
(the idea is Chrysostom's) thechildren by the
same husband, of the bondwoman and of the
freewoman. The above remarks comprise
a brief answer to the important but some-
what misapprehended question, whether
our Lord impugned the Mosaic law itself,
or only its inadequate interpretation by
the Jewish teachers ? There is no incon-
sistency in the above view with the as-
sertion in ver. 19 : the just and holy and
true law was necessarily restricted in
meaning and degraded in position, until
He came, whose office it was to fulfil and
glorify it the judgment] viz. the

courts in every city, ordered Dent xvi. 18,
and explained by Josephus Antt. iv. 8. 14
to consist of seven men, and to have the
power of life and death. But « th* judg-
ment " in the next verse (see note) is the
court of judgment in the Messiah's king-
dom. 32.] The sense is: 'There
were among the Jews three well-known
degrees of guilt, coming respectively under
the cognizance of the local and the supreme
courts; and after these is set the Gehenna
of fire, the end of the malefactor, whose
corpse, thrown out into the valley of Hin-
nom, was devoured by the worm or the
flame. Similarly, in the spiritual king-
dom of Christy shall the sins even of

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21—25.

ST. MATTHEW,

That •whosoever is angry with his brother [w without a•lJohn!iL1*•
cause] shall be in danger of the judgment : and whosoever
shall say to his brother, b Raca, shall be in danger of the */$£??**
council: but whosoever shall say, * Thau fool, shall be in S8am-Tlw*
danger of hell fire. M Therefore if thou bring c thy gift to « ^J1^
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath
ought against thee ; ** leave there thy gift before the altar,
and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift. ** d Agree with thine ad-d{£kexU-*'

Jerome pronounces the words spurious : but
x tender, Moreh.

rendered " Gehenna," Josh xviii. 16 LXX.
In this valley (also called Tophet, Isa. xxx.
88 : Jer. vh. 81) did the idolatrous Jews
burn their children to Moloch, and Josiah
(2 Kings xxiiL 10) therefore polluted it;
and thenceforward it was the place for the
casting out and burning all offal, and the
corpses of criminals; and therefore its
name, " the Gehenna of fire,** was used to
signify the place of everlasting punishment.
28 f. Therefore] An inference from
the guilt and danger of all bitterness and
hostility of mind towards another declared
in the preceding verse. thy gift, is any
kind of gift— sacrificial or eucharistic.
math ought against thee is remarkable, as
being purposely substituted for the con-
verse. It is not what complaint* we have
against others that we are to consider at
such a time, but what they hone againet
us; not what ground we have given for
complaint, but what complaints they, as
matter of fact, make against us. — See the
other side dealt with, Mark zi. 25.
24.] be reconciled : i.e. become reconciled
— thyself, without being influenced by the
status of the other towards thee. Remove
the offence, and make friendly overtures
to thy brother, first belongs to "go thy
way,*7 not to "be reconciled?* "first go
thy way" is opposed to " then come/' the
departure to the return, not " be recon-
ciled" to "offer/' No conclusion what-
ever can be drawn from this verse as to the
admissibility of the term altar as applied
to the Lord's table under the Christian
system. The whole language is Jewish,
and can only be understood of Jewish rites.
The command, of course, applies in full
force as to reconciliation before the Chris-
tian offering of praise and thanksgiving in
the Holy Communion ; but farther nothing
can be inferred. 85.] The whole of

this verse is the earthly example of a spi-
ritual duty which is understood, and runs
parallel with it. The sense may be given :
'As in worldly aflairs, it is prudent to

W omitted by some of the oldest MSS.
the ancient authorities are much divided.

thought and word be brought into judg-
ment and punished, each according to its
degree of guilt, but even the least of them
before no less a tribunal than the judg-
men^seat of Christ.' The most important
thing to keep in mind is, that there is no
distinction or kind between these punish-
ments, only of degree. In the thing com-
pared, the "judgment" inflicted death by
the sword, the "council" death by stoning,
and the disgrace of the "Gehenna of fire"
followed as an intensification of the horrors
of death ; but the punishment is one and
the same — death. So also in the subject
of the similitude, all the punishments are
spiritual; all result in eternal death; but
with various degrees (the nature of which
is as yet hidden from us), as the degrees of
guilt have been. So that the distinction
drawn by the Romanists between venial
and mortal sins, finds not only no coun-
tenance, but direct confutation from this
passage. The words here mentioned must
not be superstitiously supposed to have any
damning power in themselves (see below),
but to represent states of anger and hos-
tility, for which an awful account hereafter
must be given. Baca] i.e. empty; a

term denoting contempt, and answering to
" O vain man," James ii. 20. Moreh]

Two interpretations have been given of this
word. Either it is (1), as usually under-
stood, a Greek word, ' Thou fool,' and used
by our Lord Himself of the Scribes and
Pharisees, ch. xxiii. 17, 19,— and "fools"
(literally " senseless**) of the disciples, Luke
xxiv. 25; or (2) a Hebrew word signifying
'rebel,* and the very word for utteringwhich
Moses and Aaron were debarred from en-
tering the land of promise : • . . ' Hear
now, ye rebels,' Num. xx. 10. In pre-
sence of this doubt, it is best to leave
the word untranslated, as was done
with Baca before. hell fire] more

properly, the Gehenna of fire. To the
b.b. of Jerusalem was a deep and fertile
valley, called ' the vale of Minnom * and

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ST. MATTHEW.

"{■Si*"": versary quickly, ° whiles thou art in the way with him;
lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge,
and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be east
into prison. M Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no
means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing. 2? Ye have heard that it was said [7 by them of

f d!S1.?!"ia old time], f Thou shalt not commit adultery: ** but I say
unto you, 'That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
xt l after her hath * committed adultery with her already in his
29 b And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out,

g see (ton.
zxxIt. 1.

ISUD. X

h oh. rrlik _ _.

M«ki*.«- heart

7 omit.

make up a matter with an adversary be-
fore judgment is passed, which may deliver
a man to a hard and rigorous imprisonment,
so reconciliation with an offended brother
in this life is absolutely necessary before
his wrong cry against ns to the Great
Judge, and we be cast into eternal con-
demnation.'— The adversary, in its abstract
personification, is the offended law of God,
which will cry against us in that day for
all wrongs done to others; but in its con-
crete representation it is the offended bro-
ther, who is to us that law, as long as he
has its claim upon us. The way, in the
interpretation, is the way in which all men
walk, the "way of all the earth" of
1 Kings ii. 2, the " way whence I shall not
return" of Job. xvi. 22. In the civil pro-
cess, it represents the attempt at arbitra-
tion or private arrangement before coming
into court. 26.] These words, as in

the earthly example they imply future
liberation, because an earthly debt can be
paid in most cases, so in the spiritual coun-
terpart they amount to a negation of it,
because the debt can never be discharged.
We have " until he should pay what was
due" in ch. xviii. 80, where the payment
was clearly impossible. The minister is the
officer of the court who saw the sentences
executed. If we are called on to assign a
meaning to it in the interpretation, it must
represent the chief of those who in ch.
xviii. 34, are hinted at by "the tormentors,"
viz. the great enemy, the minister of the
divine wrath. farthing, the fourth

part of an as.

27-30.] Second example. The law
of adultery. 28. whosoever looketh . .]
The precise meaning should in this verse be
kept in mind, as the neglect of it may lead
into error. Our Lord is speaking of the
sin of adultery, and therefore, however the
saying may undoubtedly apply by implica-
tion to cases where this sin is out of the
question— e. g. to the impure beholding of

1 render, adulterously used her.

an tmmarried woman with a view to for-
nication (it being borne in mind that spi-
ritually, and before God, all fornication is
adultery, inasmuch as the unmarried per-
son is bound in loyalty and chastity to
Sim: see Stier below) — yet the direct
assertion in this verse must be understood
as applying to the cases where this sin is
in Question. And, again, the looketh on . . .
to lust after, must not be interpreted of
the casual evil thought which is checked by
holy watchfulness, but the gazing with a
view to feed that desire. And again,
hath adulterously used her already in
his heart, whatever it may undoubtedly
imply respecting the guilt incurred in
God' 8 sight, does not directly state any
thing ; but plainly understood, affirms that
the man who can do this—viz. ' gaze with
a view to feed unlawful desire ' — has already
in his heart passed the barrier of criminal
intention; made up his mind, stifled his
conscience; in thought, committed the
deed. But perhaps there is justice in
Stier's remark, that our Lord speaks here
after the O. T. usage, in which, both in the
seventh commandment and elsewhere, adul-
tery also includes fornication ; for mar-
riage is the becoming one flesh, — and there-
fore every such union, except that after the
manner and in the state appointed by God,
is a violation and contempt of that holy or-
dinance. The rendering of the A. V., "hath
committed adultery with her" is objection-
able, as making her a party to the sin, which
the original does not. 29.] Chrysos-

tom observes, that these commands relate
not to the limbs themselves, which are not
in mult, but to the evil desire, which is. An
admonition, arising out of the truth an-
nounced in the last verse, to withstand the
first springs and occasions of evil desire,
even by the sacrifice of what is most useful
and dear to us. We may observe here,
that our Lord grounds His precept of the
most rigid and decisive self-denial on the

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2&— 83.

ST. MATTHEW.

and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that one
of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole
body should be cast into hell. 80 And if thy right hand
offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee : for it is pro-
fitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and
not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

81 It hath been said, * Whosoever shall put away his wife, ! S.T^vaJ:
let him give her a writing of divorcement : 32 but I say unto
you, kThat whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for k£^kxe,x^18
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery :
and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery.

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them

considerations of the truest self-interest, —
it is profitable for thee. See ch. xviii.
8, 9, and notes.

81, 32.] Thibd example. The law of
divorce. See note on ch. xix. 7 — 9. Light-
foot gives a form of the "writing of divorce-
ment " which was a divorcement a mensd
et thoro, and placed the woman abso-
lutely in her own power, to marry whom
she pleased. In Deut. xxiv. 1, the allow-
able reason of divorce is 'some unclean-
ness.' This the disciples of Shammai in-
terpreted only of adultery ; those of Hillel
of anv thing which amounted to unclean-
ness in the eves of the husband.
82.] fornication must be taken to mean
sin, not only before marriage, but after it
also, in a wider sense, as including adultery
likewise. In the similar places, Mark x.
11 ; Luke xvi. 18, this exception does not
occur; see however our ch. xix. 9. The
figurative senses of fornication cannot be
admissible here, as the law is one having
reference to a definite point in actual life ;
and this, its aim and end, restricts the
meaning to that kind of fornication im-
mediately applicable to the case. Other-
wise this one strictly guarded exception
would give indefinite and universal lati-
tude, causeth her to commit adul-
tery] viz. by her second marriage, thus
put within her power. and whoso-
ever] How far the marriage of the inno-
cent party after separation (on account
of fornication) is forbidden by this or the
similar passage ch. xix. 9, is a weighty
and difficult question. By the Roman
Church such marriage is strictly forbid-
den, and the authority of Augustine much
cited, who strongly upholds this view, but
not without misgivings later in life. On
the other hand, the Protestant and Greek
Churches allow such marriage. Cer-
Vol. I.

tainly it would appear, from the literal
meaning of our Lord's words, that it
should not be allowed : for if by such
divorce the marriage be altogether dis-
solved, how can the woman be said to
commit adultery by a second marriage?
or how will St. Paul's precept (1 Cor. vii.
11) find place ? for stating this as St. Paul
docs, prefaced by the words "not I, but
the Lord," it must be understood, and has
been taken, as referring to this very verse,
or rather (see note there) to ch. xix. 6 if.,
and consequently can only suppose fornica-
tion as the cause. Besides which, the tenor
of our Lord's teaching in other places (see
above) seems to set before us the state of
marriage as absolutely indissoluble as such,
however he mny sanction the expulsion a
mensd et thoro of an unfaithful wife. Those
who defend the other view suppose divorced
to mean, unlawfully divorced, not for for-
nication : and certainly this is not impro-
bable. We may well leave a matter in*
doubt, of which Augustine could say, that
it was so obscure, that error on either side
is venial.

33—37.] Fourth example. The law
of oaths. 33, 34.] The exact mean-

ing of these verses is to be ascertained by
two considerations. (1) Tliat the Jews
held all those oaths not to be binding, in
which the sacred name of God did not
directly occur:— Bee Philo and Lightfoot
cited in my Gr. Test. A stress is to be
laid on this technical distinction in the
quotation made by our Lord ; and we
must understand as belonging to the
quotation, ' but whatever thou shalt swear
not to the Lord may be transgressed.'
(2) Then our Lord passes so far beyond
this rule, that He lays down (including in
it the understanding that all oaths must
be kept if made, for that they are all ulti-

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ST. MATTHEW.

1»2£b!£*1Nf old time, ,rrhou shalt not forswear thyself, but m shalt

m*beut.xxui. perform unto the Lord thine oaths : 84 but I say unto

njwnwr.u. y0U^ n Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is

oi«a.iztli. o God's throne : 35 nor by the earth ; for it is his ° footstool :

tp«A.xiTiii. s. neither by Jerusalem ; for it is the ' city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou

canst not make one hair white or black. 8? But let your

communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is

more than these cometh of evil.

88 Ye have heard that it hath been said, u An eye for an

uSxo9.xxl.f4.
Lbtit. xxlr.
SO. Dbot.

X1X.S1.

mately referable to swearing by God) the
rale of the Christian community, which is
not to swear at all ; for that every such
means of strengthening a man's simple
affirmation arises out of the evil in human
nature, is rendered requisite by the dis-
trust that sin has induced, and is, there-
fore, out of the question among the just
and true and pure of heart. See James v.
12, and note there, as explanatory why, in
both cases, swearing by the name of God
is not specified as forbidden. In the
words, ' Swear not at all/ our Lord does
not so much make a positive enactment by
which all swearing is to individuals for-
bidden, e. g. on solemn occasions, and for
the satisfaction of others, (for that would
be a mere technical Pharisaism, wholly at
variance with the spirit of the Gospel, and
inconsistent with the example of God
himself, Heb. vi. 13 — 17 ; vii. 21 ; of the
Lord when on earth, whose " verily verily
I say unto you " was a solemn assevera-
tion, and who at once respected the solemn
adjuration of Caiaphas, ch. xxvi. 63, 64 ;
,of Sis Apostles, writing under the guid-
ance of His Spirit, see Gal. i. 20 : 2 Cor.
i. 23 : Rom. i. 9 : Phil. i. 8, and especially
1 Cor. xv. 31 ; of His holy angels, Rev. x.
6,) as declare to, us, that the proper state
of Christians is, to require no oaths; that
when evil is expelled from among them,
every yea and nay will be as decisive as an
oath, every promise as binding as a vow.
We observe (a) that these verses imply
the unfitness of vows of every kind as rules
of Christian action ; (b) that the greatest
regard ought to be had to the scruples of
those, not only sects, but individuals, who
object to taking an oath, and every facility
given in a Christian state for their ulti-
mate entire abolition. 34, 36.] Com-
pare ch. xxiii. 16 — 22. Dean Trench
observes (Serm. on Mount, p. 65), 'Men
had learned to think that, if only God's
name were avoided, there was no irreve-
rence in the frequent oaths by heaven, by

the earth, *by Jerusalem, by their own
heads, and these brought in on the
slightest need, or on no need at all ; just -
as now-a-days the same lingering half-
respect for the Holy Name will often
cause men, who would not be wholly pro-
fane, to substitute for that name sounds
that nearly resemble, but are not exactly
it, or the name, it may be, of some hea-
then deity.' 36.] Thou hast no control
over the appearance of grey hairs on thy
head — thy head is not thine own;— thou
swearest then by a creature of God, whose
destinies and changes arc in God's hand ;
so that every oath is an appeal to God.
And, indeed, men generally regard it as
such now, even unconsciously.
Tea, yea; Nay, nay] The similar place,
James v. 12, admirably illustrates this —
" let your yea be yea, and your nay nay :"
—let these only be used, and they in sim-
plicity and unreservedness. cometh
of evil] The gender of evil is ambiguous,
as it may be also in the Lord's prayer, ch.
vi. 13: but see note there. It is quite
immaterial to the sense, in which gender
we understand it; for the evil of man's
corrupt nature is in Scripture spoken of as
the work of " the evil One" and is itself
" that which is evil." See John viii. 44 :
1 John iii. 8.

38—41.] Fifth example. The law
of retaliation. 38.] That is, such

was the public enactment of the Mosaic
law, and, as such, it implied a private
spirit of retaliation which should seek
such redress ; for the example evidently
refers to private as well as public retri-
bution. Here again our Lord appears
to speak of the true state and perfection
of a Christian community, — not to forbid,
in those mixed and but half- Christian
states, which have ever divided so-called
Christendom among them, the infliction
of judicial penalties for crime. In fact
Scripture speaks, Rom. xiii. 4, of the
minister of such infliction as the minister

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ST. MATTHEW.

89 but I say unto you, * That T ■"**«•»•

■ee Prov. xx.

eye, and a tooth for a tooth

ye resist not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee, on thy

right cheek, wturn to him the other also. 4° And if any wi«.l§.

man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let

him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel

thee to go a mile, go with him twain. *® Give to him that

asketh thee, and xfrom him that would borrow of thee*}^**-7-

turn not thou away.

of God. But as before, our Lord shews
us the condition to which a Christian com-
munity should tend, and to further which
every private Christian's own endeavours
should be directed. It is quite beside the
purpose for the world to say, that these
precepts of onr Lord are too highly
pitched for humanity, and so to find an
excuse for violating them. If we were
disciples of His in the true sense, these
precepts would, in their spirit, as indicative
of frames of mind, he strictly observed ;
and, as far as we are His disciples, we
shall attain to such their observance.
Here again, our Lord does not contradict
the Mosaic law, but expands and fulfils
it, declaring to us that the necessity for
it would be altogether removed in the
complete state of that kingdom which He •
came to establish. Against the notion

that an eye for an eye Ac. sanctioned
all kinds of private revenge, Augustine
remarks that the ancient precept was
rather intended to allay, than to stimulate
anger; as a limit to vindictivenees, not
a licence. 39/] Here again, we

have our divine Lawgiver legislating, not
in the bondage of the letter, so as to stul-
tify His disciples, and in many circum-
stances to turn the salt of the earth into
a means of corrupting it, — but in the
freedom of the spirit, laying down those
great principles which ought to regulate
the inner purposes and consequent actions
of His followers. Taken slavishly and
literally, neither did our Lord Himself
conform to this precept (John xviii. 22,
23), nor His Apostles (Acts xxiii. 8). But
truly, and in the spirit, our blessed Re-
deemer obeyed it : 'He gave his back to
the ranters, and his cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair, and hid not his face
from shame and spitting ' (Isa. 1. 6) : and
hk Apostles also, see 1 Cor. iv. 9 — 13.
evil] i. e. here the evil man;
♦him who injures thee.' Or, perhaps, in
the indefinite sense, as before, evil, gene-
rally, ' when thus directed against thee.'
Only, the other possible meaning there,
« the evil One,' is precluded here. " Resist
the devil," James iv. 7 : but not this par-

ticular form of his working (viz. malice
directed against thyself) so as to revenge
it on another. 40, 41.] See note on

ver. 89. This is of legal contention only,
and is thus distinguished from the violence
in ver. 39. take away, i. e. in pledge

for a debt : seo Exod. xxii. 6. eoat,

the inner and less costly garment; cloke,
the outer and more valuable, used also by
the poor as a coverlet by night (Exod. as
above). In Luke vi. 29 the order is in-
verted, and appears to be that in which
the two garments would be taken from the
body, that verse referring to abstraction
by violence. See the apostolic comment
on this precept, 1 Cor. vi. 7. compel]

The original word is one derived from the
Persian nameof thepost-couriers who carried
the government despatches : and is thence
used of any compulsory " pressing" to go on
service. ' The Jews particularly objected to
the duty of furnishing posts for the Roman
government; and Demetrius, wishing to
conciliate the Jews, promised, among other
things, that their beasts of burden should
not be pressed for service. Hence our Sa-
viour represents this as a burden.' Josephus.
The billeting of the Roman soldiers and
their horses on the Jews was one kind of
this compulsion. 42.] The proper

understanding of the command in this verse
may be arrived at from considering the
way in which the Lord Himself, who de-
clares, ' If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it' (John xiv. 14), per-
forms this promise to us. It would ob-
viously be, not a promise of love, but a
sentence of condemnation to us, under-
stood in its bare literal sense; but our
gracious Saviour, knowing what is good
for us, so answers our prayen, that we
never are sent empty away; not always,
indeed, receiving what we ask, — but that
which, in the very disappointment, we
are constrained thankfully to confess is
better than our wish. So, in his humble
sphere, should the Christian giver act. To
give every thing to every one— the sword
to the madman, the alms to the impostor,
the criminal request to the temptress —
would be to act as the enemy of others
2

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ST. MATTHEW.

V. 43—48.

▼ Dent. ndU.
8-7.

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, * Thou shalt

love thy neighbour, and * hate thine enemy. ** But I

*Bom.xii.u, gay un^0 y0U^ *L0ve your enemies, [a bless them that

m\F*tS»*i\. curse y°u> d° 900^ t° Mum that hate you,] and Bpray for

*' them which [a despitefully use you, and] persecute you;

45 that ye may be b the children of your Father which is in

bjobxxr.s. heaven: for he maketh his bsun to rise on the evil and

on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the

unjust. 4° For if ye love them which love you, what

reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye
more than others ? do not even the ° publicans so ?

48 c Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is

c 0«n. xrll. 1.
Levit. xl. 46
ziz.L

a omit. * render, sons.

c The oldest and best authorities have Gentiles the same.

and ourselves. Ours should be a higher
and deeper charity, flowing from those
inner springs of love, which are the sources
of outward actions sometimes widely di-
vergent ; whence may arise both the timely
concession, and the timely refusal.
boorrw] without usury, which was for-
bidden by the law, Exod. xxii. 25 : Levit.
xxv. 37 : Deut. xxiii. 19, 20.

43—48.] Sixth example. The lata
of love and hatred. 48.] The Jews

called all Gentiles indiscriminately * ene-
mies.' In the Pharisaic interpretation
therefore of the maxim (the latter part of
which, although a gloss of the Rabbis, is
a true representation of the spirit of the
law, which was enacted for the Jews as
a theocratic people), it would include the
" hatred for mankind" with which the
Jews were so often charged. But our
Lord's 'fulfilment' of neighbourly love
extends it to all mankind— not only foreign
nations, but even those who are actively
employed in cursing, reviling, and perse-
cuting us; and the hating of enemies is,
in His fulfilment of it, no longer an in-
dividual or national aversion, but a coming
out and being separate from all that rebel.
45. sons] i. e. in being like Him.
Of course there is allusion to our state of
children by covenant and adoption; but
the likeness is the point especially here
brought out. So imitators of God, Eph.
v. 1. The more we lift ourselves above
the world's view of the duty and ex-
pediency of revenge and exclusive dealing,
into the mind with which the 'righteous
Judge, strong and patient, who is pro-
voked every day/ yet does good to the

unthankful and evil, — the more firmly
shall wo assure, and the more nobly illus-
trate, our place as sons in His family, as
having entered into the kingdom of
heaven. for] i. e. because, • in that :'

gives the particular in which the con-
formity implied by "sons" consists.
There is a sentiment of Seneca remarkably
parallel : " If thou wouldest imitate the
gods, confer benefits even on the ungrate-
ful : for the sun rises on the wicked as
well as on others, and the seas arc open for
pirates' use." 46. publicans] This

race of men, so frequently mentioned as
the objects of hatred and contempt among
the Jews, and coupled with sinners, were
not properly the publicans, who were
wealthy Romans, of the rank of knights,
farming the revenues of the provinces;
but their underlings, heathens or renegade
Jews, who usually exacted with reckless-
ness and cruelty. "The Talmud classes
them with thieves and assassins, and re-
gards their repentance as impossible."
Wordsw. In interpreting these verses we
must carefully give the persons spoken of
their correlative value and meaning: ye,
Christians, sons of God, the true theo-
cracy, the Kingdom of heaven, — these,
"publicans" or " Gentiles," men of this
world, actuated by worldly motives, —
' what thank have ye in being like them V
47. salute] Here, most probably in
its literal sense, Jews did not salute Gen-
tiles : Mohammedans do not salute Chris-
tians even now in the East. 46. Be ye]
The original is Ye shall be : not altogether
imperative in meaning, but including the
imperative sense : such shall be the state,

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VI. 1—4.

ST. MATTHEW.

in heaven is perfect. VI. 1 d Take heed that ye do not
your e alms before men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye
have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But
when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy
right hand doeth : 4 that thine alms may be in secret :

d some MSS. have "But take heed." • read, righteousness.

the aim of Christians. perfect]

complete, in your love of others ; not one-
sided, or exclusive, as these just mentioned,
but all-embracing, and God-like, = " mer-
ciful" Lnke vi. 36. ye is emphatic.
No countenance is given by this verse to
the ancient Pelagian or the modern heresy
of perfectibility in this life. Such a sense
of the words would be utterly at variance
with the whole of the discourse. See espe-
cially vv. 22, 29, 32, in which the imper-
fections and conflicts of the Christian are
fully recognized. Nor, if we consider this
verse as a solemn conclusion of the second
part of the Sermon, does it any the more
admit of this view, asserting as it does that
likeness to God in inward purity, love, and
holiness, must be the continual aim and
end of the Christian in all the depart-
ments of his moral life. But how far
from having attained this likeness we are,
St. Paul shews us (Phil. iii. 12); and
every Christian feels, just in the pro-
portion in which he has striven after
it.

Chap. VI. 1—18.] The Thibd divi-
sion of the Seemon, in which the dis-
ciples of Christ are warned against hypo-
critical display of their good deeds, by
the examples of abuses of the duties of
almsgiving (ver. 2), praying (ver. 5), and
fasting (ver. 16). 1.] The discourse

of our Lord now passes from actions to
motives; not that He has not spoken to
the heart before, but then it was only by
inference, now directly. righteous-

ness] not 'benevolence,' or *alms,i as
in rabbinical usage, — for this meaning is
never found in the N. T., and here we
have doing alms treated of as a dis-
tinct head below. It is best then to
understand righteousness as in ch. v.
20, as a general term, including the
three duties afterwards treated of.
The words to be seen of (by) them
clearly define the course of action ob-

jected to : — not the open benevolence of
the Christian who lets his light shine
that men may glorify God, but the osten-
tation of him whose object is the praise
and glory coming from man. " For," says
Chrysostom, "a man may do his good
deeds before men, but not in order to be
seen by them ; and a. man may do them
not before men, but in order to be seen by
them."

2 — 4.] First example. Almsgiving.
2. sound a trumpet] A proverbial
expression, not implying any such custom
of the hypocrites of that day, -but the
habit of self-laudation, and display of
good works in general. Many Commen-
tators, among whom are Calvin and Ben-
gel, think that the words are to be taken
literally : and Euthymius mentions this
view. But Lightfoot says, that he finds
no trace of such a practice among the
customs in almsgiving. before thee]

According to the way in which the former
verse is taken, these words are variously
understood to apply to the trumpet being
held up before the mouth in blowing, or to
another person going before. syna-

gogues] If this bears the ordinary mean-
ing of places of worship, the literal mean-
ing' of the previous words cannot well be
maintained. The synagogues, as after-
wards the Christian churches, were the
regular places for the collection of alms.
have] literally,' have in full,—
exhaust : not have their due reward.
8.] thy, emphatic: see ch. v. 48. This
is another popular saying, not to be
pressed so as to require a literal in-
terpretation of it in the act of alms-
giving, but implying simplicity, both of
intention and act. Equally out of place
are all attempts to explain the right and
left hand symbolically, as was once the
practice. The sound sense of Chrysostom
preserves the right interpretation, where
even Augustine strays into symbolism.

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ST. MATTHEW,

VI.

and thy Father which seeth in secret [f himself] shall re-
ward thee ft openly].

5 And when % thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the

hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the

synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they

may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They

have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter

into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,

pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father

dLukexir.u. wnicn seeth in secret shall d reward thee [f openly]. 7 But

eEcciM.T.«. wnen ye pray, euse not vain repetitions, as the heathen

"JSP"1"" do: ffor they think. that they shall be heard for their

much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them : for

your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before

gLukexi.* ve ggk hrau 9 After this manner therefore pray ye : *Our

' omit.

9 some old authorities have, " ye pray, ye shall not be."

4. openly] before men and angels ;
at the resurrection of the just.
5—15.1 Second example. Prayer.
0. standing] No stress must be
laid on this word as implying ostentation ;
for it was the ordinary posture of praver.
See 1 Sam. i. 26 : 1 Kings viii. 22. The
command in Mark (xi. 25) runs, "when ye
stand praying . . ." See also Luke xviii. 11,
13. Indeed, of the two positions of prayer,
considering the place, kneeling would have
been the more singular and savouring of
ostentation. The synagogues were places
of prayers so that, as Theophylact, it is
not the place which matters, but the
manner and intent. 6. enter, &c.]

Both Chrysostom and Augustine caution
us against taking this merely literally:
and warn us, as above, that there may be
ostentation even in the secret chamber, as
there may be the avoiding of it in the
open church. 7.] On the original

meaning of the word rendered " use vain
repetitions" see in my Gr. Test. Taking
the word in its largest meaning, that of
saying things irrelevant and senseless, it
may well include all the various senses con-
tended for. What is forbidden is not
much praying, for our Lord Himself
passed whole nights in prayer : not pray-
ing in the same words, for this He did in
the very intensity of His agony at Geth-
semane; but the making number and
length a point of observance, and ima-
gining tliat prayer will be heard, not
because it is the genuine expression of the

desire of faith, but because it is of such a
length, has been such a number of times
repeated. The repetitions of Paternosters
and Ave Marias in the Romish Church, as
practised by them, are in direct violation
of this precept ; the number of repetitions
being prescribed, and the efficacy of the
performance made to depend on it. But
the repetition of the Lord's Prayer in the
Liturgy of the Church of England is not
a violation of it, nor that of the Eyrie
Eleison, because it is not the number of
these which is the object, but each has its
appropriate place and reason in that
which is pre-eminently a reasonable ser-
vice. Our Lord was also denouncing a
Jewish error. Lightfoot quotes from the
Babbinical writings, "Every one who
multiplies prayer, is heard.*'
9—13.] The Lobd's Pbayer.
9.] There is very slender proof of what is
often asserted, that our Lord took nearly
the whole of this prayer from existing
Jewish formula. Not that such a view of
the matter would contain in it any thing
irreverent or objectionable; for if pious
Jews had framed such petitions, our Lord,
who came to rulfil every thing that was
good under the Old Covenant, might, in a
higher sense and spiritual meaning, have
recommended the same forms to His dis-
ciples. But such does not appear to have
been the fact. Lightfoot produces only the
most general common-place parallels for
the petitions, from the Rabbinical books.
With regard to the prayer itself

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5—10.

ST. MATTHEW.

Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. ft Thy will be done in earth, as it

a eh. xxvL SB,
42. Aoteul.
14.

we may remark, 1. The whole passage,
w. 7— J 5, is digressive from the subject
of the first part of this chapter, which is
the discouragement of the performance of
religious duties to be seen of men, and is
resumed at ver. 16. Neander therefore
supposes that this passage has found its
way in here as a sort of accompaniment
to the preceding verses, but is in reality the
answer of our Lord to the request in Luke
xi. 1, more fully detailed than by that
Evangelist. But to this I cannot assent,
believing our Lord's discourses as given by
this evangelist to be no collections of
scattered sayings, but veritable reports of
continuous utterances. That the request
related in Luke should afterwards have
been made, and similarly answered, is by
no means improbable. (That he should
have thus related it with this gospel before
him, is more than improbable.) 2. It has
been questioned whether the prayer was
regarded in the very earliest times as a set
form delivered for liturgical use by our
Lord. The variations in Luke have been
regarded as fatal to the supposition of its
being used liturgically at the time when
these Gospels were written. But see notes
on Luke xi. 1. It must be confessed, -that
we find very few traces of such use in
early times. Tholuck remarks, " It does not
occur in the Acts, nor in any writers be-
fore the third century. In Justin Martyr
we find, thut the minister prays 'ac-
cording to his power' . . . Cyprian and
TertuUian make the first mention of the
prayer as a 'lawful and ordinary prayer.'"
An allusion to it has been supposed to
exist in 2 Tim. iv. 18, where see note.
3. The view of some that our Lord gave
this, selecting it out of forms known and
in use, as a prayer ad interim, till the
effusion of the Spirit of prayer, is inad-
missible, as we have no traces of any such
temporary purpose in our Saviours dis-
courses, ana to suppose any such would
amount to nothing less than to set them
entirely aside. On the contrary, one work
of the Holy Spirit on the disciples was, to
bring to their mind all things whatsoever
He had said unto them, the depth of such
sayings only then first being revealed to
them by Him who took of the things of
Christ and shewed them to them, John
xiv. 26. After this manner] thus.

Considering that other manners of pray-
ing have been spoken of above, the "vain
repetition " and the " much speaking," the
word, especially in its preecnt position of

primary emphasis, cannot well be other-
wise understood than ' in these words,' as
a specimen of the Christian's prayer (the
ye holds the second place in emphasis), no
less than its pattern. This, which would
be the inference from the context here, is
decided tor us by Luke xi. 2, when ye
pray, say—. Our Father] This was a

form of address almost unknown to the
Old Covenant: now and then hinted at,
as reminding the children of their rebel-
lion (Isa. i. 2 : Mai. i. 6), or mentioned as
a last resouroe of the orphan and desolate
creature (Isa. lxiii. 16) ; but never brought
out in its fulness, as indeed it could not be,
till He was come by whom we have re-
ceived the adoption of sons. " The prayer
is a fraternal one; He saith not, My
Father, as if prayed for himself only : but
Our Father, as embracing in one prayer all
who are known as brethren in Christ."
Aug. which art in heaven] These

opening words of the Lord's Prayer set
clearly before us the state of the Chris-
tian, as believing in, depending upon,
praying to, a real objective personal God,
lifted above himself; to approach whom he
must lift up his heart, as the eye is lifted
up from earth to heaven. This strikes at
the root of all pantheistic error, which
regards the spirit of man as identical with
the Spirit of God, — and at the root of all
deism, testifying as it does our relation
to and covenant dependence on our heavenly
Father. The local heavens are no

further to be thought of here, than as
Scripture, by a parallelism of things natu-
ral and spiritual deeply implanted in our
race, universally speaks of heaven and
heavenly, as applying to the habitation
and perfections of the High and Holy One
who inhabiteth Eternity. Hallowed

be thy name] De Wette observes: 'God's
Name is not merely His appellation, which
we speak- with the mouth, but also and
principally the idea which we attach to it,
— His Being, as far as it is confessed, re-
vealed, or known.' The ' Name of God ' in
Scripture is used to signify that revelation
of Himself which He has made to men,
which is all that we know of Him : into
the depths of His Being, as it is, no
human soul can penetrate. See John xvii.
6: Bom. ix. 17. Hallow here is in the
sense of keep holy, sanctify in our hearts,
as in ref. 1 Pet. 10. Thy kingdom come]
Thy kingdom here is the fulness of the
accomplishment of the kingdom of God, so
often spoken of in prophetic Scripture;

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ST. MATTHEW.

VI.

is in heaven. u Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And
bjh.wriu.il. b forgive us our debts, as we n forgive our debtors. 13 And
djoh^Ilifts. c lead us not into temptation, but d deliver us from evil :

[}for thine is the kingdom , and the power, and the glory, for

* omit.

n read, have forgiven.

and by implication, all that process of
events which lead to that accomplishment.
Meyer, in objecting to all ecclesiastical
and spiritual meanings of « Thy kingdom,'
forgets that the one for which he contends
exclusively, the Messianic kingdom, does
in fact include or imply them all.
Thy will be done] i.e. not, 'may onr
will be absorbed into thy will ;' bat may
it be conformed to and subordinated to
thine. The literal rendering is, Let thy
will be done, aa in heaven, (so) also on
earth. These last words, "as in

heaven, so also on earth," may be re-
garded as applying to the whole of the
three preceding petitions, as punctuated
in the text. A slight objection may per-
haps be found in the circumstance, that
the kingdom of God cannot be said to
have come in heaven, seeing that it has
always been fully established there, and
thus the accuracy of correspondence in
the particulars will be marred. It is true,
this may be escaped by understanding,
May thy kingdom come on earth, so as to
be as fully established, as it is already in
heaven. So that I conceive we are at
liberty to take the prayer either way.
11. onr daily bread] onr— as
' created for us* ' provided for our use by
Thee.' The word rendered daily has been
very variously explained. For a discus-
sion of the probable derivations and mean-
ings, I must refer to my Or. Test. I
have there seen reason to prefer the sense
required for onr subsistence— proper for
onr sustenance. So that the expression
will be equivalent to St. James's " things
which are needful for the body " (ii. 16),
and the expressions are rendered in the
Syriac version by the same word. Thus
only, this day has its proper meaning.
The "day by day" in Luke xi. 3 is
different; see there. It is a question,
how far the expression may be understood
spiritually— of the Bread of Life. The
answer is easy : viz. that we may safely
thus understand it, provided we keep in
the foreground its primary physical mean-
ing, and view the other as involved by
implication in that. To understand the
expression of the Eucharist primarily, or
even of spiritual feeding on Christ, is to
miss the plain reference of the petition to
onr daily physical wants. But not to re-

cognize those spiritual senses, is equally to
miss the great truth, that the " we " whose
bread is prayed for, are not mere animals,
but composed of body, soul, and spirit, all
of which want daily nourishment by Him
from whom ail blessings flow. 12. onr

debts] i. e. sins, short-comings, and
therefore 'debts:' answers to "tres-
passes," ver. 14. Augustine remarks, that
those sins are not meant which are remit-
ted in the regeneration of baptism, but
those which are contracted day by day
from the bitter fruits of worldly contact
by our infirmity. as we] Not 'for

we also,' Ac. (as in Luke), nor 'in the
same measure as we also,' oc., but like aa
we also, Ac.; implying similarity in the
two actions, of kind, but no comparison of
degree. 'Augustine uses the testimony of
this prayer against all proud Pelagian
notions of an absolutely sinless state in this
life ' (Trench) ; and answers the various
excuses and evasions by which that sect
escaped from the conclusion. have

forgiven here implies that (see ch. v. 23,
24) the act of forgiveness of others is com-
pleted before we approach the throne of
grace. 18.] The sentiment is not in any

way inconsistent with the Christian's joy
when he "falls into divers temptations"
James i. 2, but is a humble self-distrust
and shrinking from such trial in the
prospect. The leading into temptation
must be understood in its plain literal
sense: so will make with the temptation
also a way to escape, 1 Cor. x. 13. There
is no discrepancy with James i. 13, which
speaks not of the providential bringing
about of, but the actual solicitation of, the
temptation. Some have attempted to
fix on leading into and entering into
temptation, the meaning of bringing into
the power of, and entering into, so as
to be overcome by, temptation. But
this surely the words will not bear.
But must not be taken as
equivalent to 'but if thou dost, deliver,'
&c. ; but is rather the opposition to the
former clause, and forms in this sense, but
one petition with it, — 'bring us not into
conflict with evil, nay rather deliver (rid)
us from it altogether.' In another view,
however, as expressing the deep desire of
all Christian hearts to be delivered from
all evil (for the adjective is here certainly

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11-18.

ST. MATTHEW.

ever. Amen.'] 14r For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you : 16 but cif ye e &j£Via.
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses.

18 Moreover fwhen ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, fI"*-lTl11-6-
of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces,
that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward. *7 But thou, when
thou fastest, 8 anoint thine head, and wash thy face ; * Dan- x- »■
18 that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto
thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which
seeth in secret, shall reward thee [J openly] .

J omit.

neuter; tbe introduction of the mention
of the ' evil one ' would seem here to be
incongruous. Besides, compare the words
of St Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 18, which look very
like a reminiscence of this prayer: see
note there) these words form a seventh
and roost affecting petition, reaching far
beyond the last. They are the expression
of the yearning for redemption of the sons
of God (Bom. viii. 28), and so are fitly
placed at the end of the prayer, and as the
sum and substance of the personal peti-
tions.

The doxology must on every ground of
sound criticism be omitted. Had it
formed part of the original text, it is ab-
solutely inconceivable that almost all the
ancient authorities should with one consent
have omitted it. They could have had no
reason for doing so ; whereas the habit of
terminating liturgical prayers with ascrip-
tions of praise would naturally suggest
some such ending, and make its insertion
almost certain in course of time. And
just correspondent to this is the evidence.
We find, absolutely no trace of it in early
times, in any family of MSS. or in any
expositors. The ancient Syriac version
has it, but whether it always had, is
another question. It is quite open for us
to regard it with Euthymius as " a solemn
ending, added by the holy lights and lead-
ers of the Church," and to retain it as such
in our liturgies; but in dealing with the
sacred text we must not allow any ct priori
considerations, of which we are such poor
judges, to outweigh the almost unanimous
testimony of antiquity. The inference to
be drawn from the words of St. Paul, 2
Tim. iv. 18, is rather against, than for the
genuineness of the doxology. The fact
that he there adds a doxology, different
from that commonly read here, seems to

testify to the practice, begun thus early,
of concluding the Lord's prayer with a
solemn ascription of glory to God. This
eventually fell into one conventional form,
and thus got inserted in the sacred text.
14, 15.1 Our Lord returns (for) to
explain the oniy part of the prayer which
peculiarly belonged to the new law of
love, and enforces it by a solemn assurance.
On the sense, see Mark xi. 25, and the
remarkable parallel, Ecclesiasticusxxviii. 2 :
" Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he
hath done unto thee, so shall thy sins also
be forgiven when thou prayest."

16—18.] Thibd example. Fasting.
Another department of the spiritual life,
in which reality in the sight of God, and
not appearance in the sight of man, must
be our object. While these verses deter-
mine nothing as to the manner and extent
of Christian fasting, they clearly recognize
it as a solemn duty, ranking it with alms-
giving and prayer; but requiring it, like
them, (see ch. ix. 14 — 17,) to spring out of
reality, not mere formal prescription.
18. disfigure] The word literally means
make to disappear. Hence some have ex-
plained it, hide, cover up, viz. in mourning
costume. But in later Greek the meaning
was to disfigure. One writer uses it of
women who paint their faces. The allu-
sion is therefore not to covering the face,
which could only be regarded as a sign of
mourning, but to the squalor of the un-
cleansed face, and hair of the head and
beard, as the contrast of washing and
anointing shews. 17.] i.e. 'appear

as usual :' « seem to men the same as if
thou wert not fasting.' It has been ob-
served that this precept applies only to
voluntary and private fasts, (such as are
mentioned Luke xviii. 12.) not to public
and enjoined ones. But this distinction

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ST. MATTHEW.

VI.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,

hJunMT.i, where hmoth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal : 20 but lay up for yourselves

1 cLik?iuVw. 'treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust

lTim.^.S doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through

nor steal : 21 for where your treasure is, there will

jLjkexi.84> vour heart be also. 22^The light of the body is the
eye : if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be full of light. » But if thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light that is in thee be darkness, k how great is that

k Luke xwt is. darkness ! 24 k No man can serve two masters : for either

k render, how dark is the darkness !

does nob seem to be necessary; the one
might afford just as much occasion for
ostentation as the other.

19 — 34.] From cautions against the
hypocrisy of formalists, the discourse na-
turally passes to the entire dedication of
the heart to God, from which all duties of
the Christian should be performed. In
this section this is enjoined, 1. (vv. 19 —
24) with regard to earthly treasures, from
the impossibility of serving God and
Mammon : 2. (vv. 25 — 34) with regard to
earthly cares, from the assurance that our
Father careth for us. 19, 20. nut]

The word is more general in meaning than
mere rust : it includes the ' wear and
tear* of time, which eats into and con-
sumes the fairest possessions. The laying up
treasures in heaven would accumulate the
" hags that wax not old, a treasure that
faileth not," of Lukexii. 33, corresponding
to the "reward" of ch. v. 12, and the
" shall reward thee " of w. 4, 6, 18. See
1 Tim. vi. 19 : Tobit iv. 9. break

through] usually joined with " a house," as
in ch. xxiv. 43, where the word in the
original is the same. 21.] The connexion
with the foregoing is plain enough to any
but the shallowest reader. < The heart is,
where the treasure is.' But it might be
replied, 'I will have a treasure on earth
and a treasure in heaven also : a divided
affection.' This is dealt with, and its im-
practicability shewn by a parable from
nature. 22, 23. The light] as

lighting and guiding the body and its
members : not as containing light in it-
self. Similarly the inner light, the con-
science, lights the spirit and its facul-
ties, but by light supernal to itself,
'single, i. e. clear, untroubled in
vision, as the eye which presents a well-
defined and single image to the brain.

evil, i. e. perverse, as the eye which dims
and distorts the visual images. full of

light, rather, in full light, as an object
in the bright sunshine ; fall of darkness,
rather, as an object in the deep shade.
If therefore &c.] Render, as in margin.
If then the light which is in thee is
darkness, how dark is the dabkness !
i. e. 'if the conscience, the eye and
light of the soul, be darkened, in how
much grosser darkness will all the passions
and faculties be, which are of themselves
naturally dark!' This interpretation is
that of nearly all the ancient fathers and
versions. Sticr expands it well : " As the
body, of itself a dark mass, has its light
from the eye, so we have here compared to
it the sensuous, bestial life of men, their
appetites, desires, and aversions, which be-
long to the lower creature. This dark re-
gion— human nature under the gross domi-
nion of the flesh — shall become spiritualized,
enlightened, sanctified, by the spiritual
light : but if this light be darkness, how
great must then the darkness of the sensu-
ous life be ! " The A. V., which agrees
with the usual modern interpretation,
makes the words a mere expression of the
greatness of the darkness thereby occa-
sioned, and thus loses the force of the
sentence. 24.] And this division in

man's being cannot take place— he is and
must be one — light or dark— serving God
or Mammon. serve] Not merely

'serve,' as we now understand it, but in
that closer sense, in which he who serves
is the slave of, i. e. belongs to and obeys
entirely. See Bom. vi. 16, 17. for

either .... or] is not a repetition ; but
the suppositions are the reverse of one
another : as Meyer expresses it, " He will
either hate A and love B, or cleave to A
and despise B:' the one and the other

Digitized by VjOOQIC

19—28.

ST. MATTHEW.

he will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will

hold to the one, and despise the other. *Ye cannot serve 1j5k£g1i;.4.

God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, ro * Take m puVW. '•. *

no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall

drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is

not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the n fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither n4f10b^TUl-
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly cxMiL9>
Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ?

27 Which of you by taking m thought can add one cubit
unto his n stature ? ^ And why take ye ° thought for
raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ;

1 render, Take not anxious thought.
n render, age.

m render, anxious thought.
0 render, anxious thought.

keeping their individual reference in both
members. hate and love must be given
their full meaning, or the depth of the
saying is not reached : the sense love less,
disparage, for hate, would not bring out
the opposition and division of the nature
of man by the attempt. mammon]

the Chaldee word for riohefl. Mammon
does not appear to have been the name
of any Syrian deity, as some assert.
26. Therefore] A direct inference from
the foregoing verse: the plainer, since
the verb signifies 'to be distracted/ 'to
have the mind drawn two ways.' The
A. V., ' Take no thought,' does not express
the sense, but gives rather an exaggera-
tion of the command, and thus makes it
unreal and nugatory. Take not anxious
thought, is far better. In Luke xii. 29 we
have " live not in careful suspense " (A.V.
marg.). Is not the life] The argu-

ment is, ' Shall not He who gave us the
greater, also give us the less P '
26.] The two examples, of the birds and
the lilies, are not parallel in their ap-
plication. The first is an argument from
the less to the greater ; that our heavenly
Father, who feeds the birds, will much
more feed us : the second, besides this ap-
plication, which (ver. 30) it also contains,
Lb a reproof of the vanity of anxiety about
clothing, which, in all its pomp of gorge-
ous colours, is vouchsafed to the inferior
creatures, but not attainable by, as being
unworthy of, us. Notice, it is not said,
" Sow not, reap not, gather not into
barns;"— the birds are not our example
to follow in their habits, for God hath
made us to differ from them — the doing
all these things iB part of our " how much
better are ye," and increases the force
of the ct fortiori ; but it is said, " be not

anxious," — "be not in suspense" Luke
xii. 24). your Father, not their

Father: — thus by every accessory word
does our Lord wonderfully assert the
truths and proprieties of creation, in which
we, his sons, are His central work, and
the rest for us. of the air, and after-

wards of the field, as Tholuck remarks, are
not superfluous, but serve to set forth the
wild and uncaring freedom of the birds and

{)lants. I may add, — also to set forth their
ower rank in the 6cale of creation, as be-
longing to the air and the field. Who
could say of all mankind, " the men of
the world ? " Thus the a fortiori is more
plainly brought out. 27.] These

words do not relate to the stature, the
adding a cubit to which (= a foot and a
half) would be a very great addition, in-
stead of a very small one, as is implied
here, and expressed in Luke xii. 26, " if
then ye be not able to do that thing which
is least,"— but to the time of life of each
hearer; as Theophylact on Luke xii. 26,
" The measure of life is with Qod alone,
and each man cannot set the measure of
his own age." So the best Commentators :
and the context seems imperatively to re-
quire it ; for the object of food and clothing
is not to enlarge the body, but to prolong
life. The application of measures of space
to time is not uncommon. See Ps. xxxix.
5 : Job ix. 25 : 2 Tim. iv. 7. Mimnermus,
a Greek poet, speaks of "a cubit* s length of
time" See other examples in my Gr. Test.
28.] Consider, implying more at-
tention than " Behold." The birds fly by,
and we can but look upon them : the flowers
are ever with us, and we can watch their
growth. These lilies have been supposed
to be the crown imperial, (fritillaria impe-
rially,) which grows wild in Palestine, or

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ST. MATTHEW.

VI. 29—34.

they toil not, neither do they spin : 29 and yet I say unto
you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. so Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass
of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the
oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith ? 31 Therefore P take no thought, saying, What shall
we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall
we be clothed? 82 (for after all these things do the Gen-
tiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. ^ But ° seek ye first * the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you. M Take therefore no
r thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take

P render, take not anxious thought.

4 The Vatican MS. reads, His righteousness and kingdom : the Sinaitic,

His kingdom and righteousness. r rentier, anxious thought.

o see 1 Kings
ill. 11 -18.
Mark z. 30,
SO. l'lim.
Iv 8.

the amaryllis lutea, (Sir J. E. Smith,) whose
golden liliaceous flowers cover the autumnal
fields of the Levant. Dr. Thomson, " The
Land and the Book/' p. 256, believes the
Huleh lily to be meant : " it is very large,
and the three inner petals meet above, and
form a gorgeous canopy, such as art never
approached, and king never sat under, even
in his utmost glory. And when I met
this incomparable flower, in all its love-
liness, among the oak woods around the
northern base of Tabor, and on the hills of
Nazareth, where our Lord spent His youth,
I felt assured that it was this to which
He referred." Probably, however, the
word here may be taken in a wider im-
port, as signifying all wild flowers.
29.] We herehave the declaration of the
Creator Himself concerning the relative
glory and beauty of all human pomp, com-
pared with the meanest of His own works.
See 2 Chron. ix. 15 — 28. And the mean-
ing hidden beneath the text should not
escape the student. As the beanty of the
flower is unfolded by the divine Creator
Spirit from within, from the laws and
capacities of its own individual life, so
must all true adornment of man be un-
folded from within by the same Almighty
Spirit. See 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. As nothing
from without can defile a man, (ch. xv. 11,)
so neither can any thing from without
adorn him. Our Lord introduces with
" I say unto you" His revelations of om-
niscience : see ch. xviii. 10, 19.
30. the grass] The wild flowers which
form part of the meadow growth are
counted as belonging to the grass, and are
cut down with it. Cut grass, which soon

withers from the heat, is still used in the
East for firing. See "The Land and the
Book," p. 841. the oven] " a covered

earthen vessel, a pan, wider at the bottom
than at the top, wherein bread was baked
by putting hot embers round it, which
produced a more equable heat than in the
regular oven." Wilkinson and Webster's
note. 32. for your heavenly Father

knoweth] This second "for" brings in an
additional reason. 83. seek ye first]

Not with any reference to seeking all
these things after our religious duties,
e. g. beginning with prayer days of avarice
and worldly anxiety, but make your great
object, as we say, your first oare.
his righteousness] Not here the forensic
righteousness of justification, but the spi-
ritual purity inculcated in this discourse.
His righteousness answers to His perfec-
tion, spoken of in ch. v. 48, and is another
reference to the being as our heavenly
Father is. In the Christian life which
has been since unfolded, the righteousness
of justification is a necessary condition
of likeness to God ; but it is not the righte-
ousness here meant. shall be added
unto you] There is a traditional saying
of our Lord, " Ash ye for great things,
and small things shall be added unto
you : ask for heavenly, things, and earthly
things shall be added unto you"
84] literally, for the morrow will oare
for it, viz. for itself, the morrow men-
tioned above : i. e. will bring care enough
about its own matters : implying, — ' after
all your endeavour to avoid worldly cares,
you will find quite enough and more
of them when to-morrow comes, about

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VII. 1—5.

ST. MATTHEW.

thought for [8 the things of] itself. Sufficient unto the day
is the evil thereof.

VII. lp Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 Forpgj^J^
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged : and jSi'JAt"
* with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured qMirkiT. 24.
to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that
is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that
is in thine own eye ? * Or how wilt thou say to thy
brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye;
and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye ? 6 Thou hypo-
crite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and
then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy

8 omit.

to-morrow itself: do not then increase
those of to-day by introducing them before
their time.' A hint, as is the following
evil thereof, that in this state of sin and
infirmity the command of ver. 31 will never
be completely observed.

Chap. VII. 1—12.] Of our conduct
towards other men : parenthetically
illustrated, vv. 7—11, by the benignity
and wisdom of God in hie dealings with
us. The connexion with the last chapter
is immediately, the word evil, in which
a glance is given by the Saviour at the
misery and sinfulness of human life at its
best; — and now precepts follow, teaching
as how we are to live in such a world, and
among others sinful like ourselves: — me-
diately, and more generally it is, the con-
tinuing caution against hypocrisy, in our-
selves and in others. 1.] This does
not prohibit all judgment (see ver. 20,
and 1 Cor. v. 12) ; but, as Augustine, en-
joins us to interpret others charitably in
all cases where doubt may exist as to the
motives of their actions. judge has
been taken for " condemn " here ; and this
seems necessary, at least in so far that it
should be taken as implying an ill judg-
ment. For if the command were merely
' not to form authoritative judgments of
others,' the second member, "that ye be
not judged,*' would not, in its right in-
terpretation, as applying to God's judg-
ment of us, correspond. And the " con-
demn not," which follows in Luke vi. 37,
is perhaps to be taken rather as an ad-
ditional explanation of judge, than as a
climax after it. judged] i. e. < by
God' for so doing ;— a parallel expression
to ch. v. 7 j vi. 15 ; not ' by others.' The
bare passive, without the agent expressed,
is solemn and emphatic. See note on
Luke vi. 38; xvi. 9; and xii. 20. The

sense then is, 'that yon have not to an-
swer before God for your rash judgment
and its consequences.' The same remarks
apply to ver. 2. 3 — 5.] Light-

foot produces instances of this proverbial
saying among the Jews. With them,
however, it seems only to be used of a
person retaliating rebuke; whereas our
Lord gives us a further application of
it, viz. to the incapability of one involved
in personal iniquity to form a right judg-
ment on other?, and the clearness given
to the spiritual vision by conflict with
and victory over evil. There is also no
doubt here a lesson given us of the true
relative magnitude which our own faults,
and those of our brother, ought to hold in
our estimation. What is a mote to one
looking on another, is to that other himself
a beam : just the reverse of the ordinary
estimate. 3.] beholdest, from with-

out, a voluntary act: considerest not,
apprehendest not, from within, that which
is already there, and ought to have excited
attention before. The same distinction is
observed in Luke. 4.] how wilt thou

■ay, is ° how canst thou say " in Luke :
Luther renders it "how darest thou say?"
5. Thou hypocrite] " He calls this
man a hypocrite, as usurping the office of
a physician, when he really fills the place of
a sick man : or as in pretence busying him-
self about another man's fault, but in reality
doing it with a view to condemning him."
Euthymius. shalt thou see clearly,

with purified eye. The close is remarkable.
Before, to behold the mote was all— to
stare at thy brother's faults, and as people
do who stand and gaze at an object, attract
others to gaze also : — but now, the object
is a very different one— to cast out the
mote— to help thy brother to be rid of his
fault, by doing him the best and most

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

VII.

'a^zul* brother's eye. 6 rGive not that which is holy unto the

wfiVx ' dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they

trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend

'indiiifws. you- 7 ■ Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall

x*'lL SLi' ^n^ '> knock, a^d ft snall be opened unto you : 8 for every

\\£niliv? one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;

1B* and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what

man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he

give him a stone ? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him

a serpent? n If ye then, being evil, know how to give

good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your

Father which is in heaven give good things to them that

difficult office of Christian friendship. The
beholding was Tain and idle; the teeing
clearly is for a blessed end, viz. (ch. xviii.
15) to gain thy brother. 6.1 The

connexion, see below. that which is

holy] Some have thought this, in the
Greek, to be a mistranslation of a
Chaldee word signifying an earring, or
amulet; but the connexion is not at all
improved by it. Pearls bear a resem-
blance to peas or acorns, the food of
swine, but earrings none whatever to the
food of dogs. The similitude is derived
from " the holy things," the meat offered
in sacrifice, of which no unclean person
was to eat (Lev. xxii. 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16).
Similarly in the ancient Christian Liturgies
and Fathers, "the holy things" are the
consecrated elements in the Holy Commu-
nion. Thus interpreted, the saying would
be one full of meaning to the Jews. As
Dean Trench observes (Serm. Mount,
p. 136), " It is not that the dogs would
not eat it, for it would be welcome to
them ; but that it would be a profanation
to give it to them, Exod. xxii. 31." The
other part of the similitude is of a different
character, and belongs entirely to the
swine, who having cast to them pearls,
something like their natural food, whose
value is inappreciable by them, in fury
trample them with their feet, and turning
against the donor, rend him with their
tusks. The connexion with the foregoing
and following verses is this : "Judge not"
Ac. ; " attempt not the correction of others,
when you need it far more yourselves :"
still, " be not such mere children, as not to
distinguish the characters of those with
whom you have to do. Oive not that which
is holy to dogs" Ac. Then, as a humble
hearer might be disposed to reply, ' if this
last be a measure of the divine dealings,
what bounties can I expect at God's hand V

(ver. 7), ' ask of God, and He will give to
each of you : for this is His own will, that
you shall obtain by asking (ver. 8),— good
things, good for each in nis place and
degree (w. 10, 11), not unwholesome' or
unfitting things. Therefore (ver. 12) do
ye the same to others, as ye wish to be
done, and as God does, to you : viz. give
that which is good for each, to each, not
judging uncharitably on the one hand, nor
casting pearls before swine on the other.'
7.] The three similitudes are all
to be understood of prayer, and form a
climax. 8.] The only limitation to

this promise, which, under various forms,
is several times repeated by our Lord, is
furnished in w. 9—11, and in James iv. 3,
" Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask
amiss." 9.] There are two questions

here, the first of which is broken off. See
a similar construction in ch. xii. 11. The
similitude of bread (a loaf) and a stone
also appears in ch. iv. 3. Luke (xi. 12)
adds the egg and the scorpion. 11.

evil] i. e. in comparison with God. It is
not necessary to suppose a rebuke conveyed
here, but only a general declaration of the
corruption and infirmity of man. Augus-
tine remarks, in accordance with this view,
that the persons now addressed are the
same who had been taught to say « Our
Father' just now. Stier remarks, "This
saying seems to me the strongest proof of
original sin in the whole of the holy scrip-
tures." Reden Jesu, i. 236. good
things] principally, His Holy Spirit, Luke
xi. 13. The same argument & fortiori is
used by our Lord in the parable of the unjust
judge/Luke xviii. 6, 7. 12.] Trench
(Serm. on the Mount, p. 143) has noticed
Augustine's refutation of the sneer of in-
fidels (such as Gibbon's against this pre-
cept), that some of our Lord's sayings have
been before written by heathen authors.

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6—17.

ST. MATTHEW.

ask him ? 12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: 'for*^*^^18-
this is the law and the prophets. 2SBo2!v!'

13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the uLukexlUM-
gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat : H because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Tt Beware TJkutj£.'1'
of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, iSSAs.
but inwardly they are w ravening wolves. 16xYe shall y**-1--1'
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of *£*■•"• *-»
thorns, or figs of thistles? W Even so every good treexc
bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth

* Some MSS. read, But beware.

" Pythagoras said this, Plato said it. . . .
Well, if any of them is found to have
said a thing which Christ also said, we
congratulate him, we do not follow him.
Bat, it is said, he came before Christ.
So then, if a man speaks truth, he is
to he esteemed prior to truth itself."
Therefore is the inference indeed
from the preceding eleven verses, but im-
mediately from the give good tilings to
them that ask him, just said,— and thus
closing this section of the Sermon with a
lesson similar to the last verse of ch. v.,
which is, indeed, the ground-tone of the
whole Sermon — 'Be ye like unto God."
even so, viz. after the pattern o/all
things whatsoever: not those things
themselves, because what might suit us,
might not suit others. We are to think
what we should like done to us, and then
apply that rule to our dealings with
others: viz. by doing to them what we
have reason to suppose they would like
done to them. This is a most important
distinction, and one often overlooked in the
interpretation of this golden maxim.

13—27.] The conclusion op the dis-
course : — setting forth more strongly and
personally the dangers of hypocrisy, both
in being led aside by hypocritical teachers,
and in our own inner life.— The gate
stands at the end of the way, as in the
remarkable parallel in the Table of Cebes ;
44 Do you see a certain small door, and a
certain path in front of the door, which
is not much frequented, but only a few
walk in it? . . . this is the way which
leads to true discipline." 14.1 because
gives a second reason, on which that in
ver. 13 depends : strive, etc., for broad is,
*c., because narrow is, &e. The reason

why the way to destruction is so broad,
is because so few find their way into the
narrow path of life. This is not merely an
arbitrary assignment of the because, but
there is a deep meaning in it. The reason
why so many perish is not that it is so
ordained by God, who will have all to come
to the knowledge of the truth, — but be-
. cause so few will come to Christ, that they
may have life ; and the rest perish in their
Bins. See notes on ch. xxv. 41.
strait] literally, restricted, — crushed in,
in breadth. 15.] The connexion is, —

strive to enter <%c. : but be not misled by
persons who pretend to guide you into it,
but will not do so in reality. These

false prophets, directly, refer to those who
were soon to arise, to deceive, if possible,
even the very elect, ch. xxiv. 24; and
indirectly, to all such false teachers in all
ages. in sheep's clothing] There may

be allusion to the prophetic dress, ch. Hi. 4;
but most probably it only means that, in
order to deceive, they put on the garb and
manners of the sheep themselves.
16.] The fruits are both their corrupt
doctrines and their vicious practices, as
contrasted with the outward shews of
almsgiving, prayer, and lasting, their
sheep's clothing to deceive. See James iii.
12; ch. xii. 33, 34. 17. a corrupt

tree] See also ch. xiii. 48. From these
two verses, 17, 18, the Manichseans de-
fended their heresy of the two natures,
good and bad : but Augustine answers
them, that such cannot possibly be their
meaning, as it is entirely contrary to the
whole scope of the passage (see for example
ver. 13), and adds, "A bad tree then can-
not bear good fruit*: but it may, from bad,
become good, in order to the bearing good

Digitized by VjOOQ

ST. MATTHEW.

VII. 18—29.

y ch. ill. 10
and parallel.
John zt. 2( 6.

ich.xxr. 11,
IS. Luke
xlll. 86.
Rom. il. 18.
James 1. Si.

a Num. xxIt. 3,
Ac. Johnxi.
61. ICor.
xiii. S.

b eh. xxt. IS.

Lake illL 2S,

27 J Tim.

11.19.
cPfcT.J: Tl.8.

ch. xxt. 41.

forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil
fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 * Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire. 2° Wherefore by their fruits
ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me,
* Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but
he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not ft prophesied in thy name ? and in thy name have cast
out devils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works ?

23 And then will I profess unto them, b I never knew you :
c depart from me, ye that work iniquity. ** Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
u I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock : 23 and the rain descended, and the floods

* Our earliest MSS. read, shall be likened.

fruit." On the other hand, these verses
were his weapon against the shallow Pela-
gian scheme, which would look at men's
deeds apart from the living root in man
out of which they grew, and suppose that
man's unaided will is capable of good.
Trench, Serm. on the Mount, p. 150.
80. ye shall know them] The original has
more force; *ye shall thoroughly know
them:' see 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 21.] The

doom of the hypocritical faUe prophet*
introduces the doom of all hypocrites, and
brings on the solemn close of the whole, in
which the hypocrite and the true disciple
are paraboUcally compared. — Observe that
here the Lord sets Himself forth as the
Judge in the great day, and at the same
time speaks not of •• my will," but " the
will of my Father:" an important and
invaluable doctrinal landmark in this very
opening of His ministry in the first Gospel.
The context must rale the meaning of such
wide words as saith. Here it is evidently
used of mere lip homage ; but in " no man
can say that Jesus is the Lord" 1 Cor.
xii. 3, the "saying" has the deeper mean-
ing of a genuine heartfelt confession. To
seek for discrepancies in passages of this
kind implies a predisposition to find them:
and is to treat Holy Scripture with less
than that measure of candour which we
five to the writings of one another.
22. in that day] perhaps refers to ver. 19 :
or it may be the expression so common in
the prophets of the great day of the Lord :
e. g. Isa. ii. 20 ; xxv. 9 al. fr. So the Jews
called the great day of judgment " that
day." Si thy name] perhaps better by

thy name, that name having filled out our

belief, and been the object of our confes-
sion of faith. prophesied] i. e., as so
often in N. T., preached, not necessarily
foretold future events. See 1 Cor. xii. 10,
and note. On oast out devils, see note on
ch. viii. 32. 23.] See Luke xiii.
25—27. will I profess (more pro-
perly, confess) is here remarkable, as a
statement of the simple truth of facta, as
opposed to the false colouring and self-
deceit of the hypocrites—' I will tell them
the plain truth. I never knew yon,
i. e. in the sense in which it is said, John
x. 14, "I know my sheep (lit. the things
that are mine), and am known by them"
Neither the preaching Christ, nor doing
miracles in His Name, is an infallible sign
of being His genuine servants, but only
the devotion of life to God's will which this
knowledge brings about. 24. these
sayings of mine] more probably, these
sayings from me: see Acts i. 4, ye have
heard of (from) me. The expression, these
sayings, seems to bind together the Ser-
mon, and preclude, as indeed does the
whole structure of the Sermon, the sup-
position that these last chapters are
merely a collection of sayings uttered
at different times. I will liken]
Meyer and Tholuck take this word to
signify, not 'I will compare,' but 'I
will make at that day like.' But it
is, perhaps, more in analogy with the
usage of the Lord's discourses to under-
stand it, I will compare: so ch. xi.
16 : Luke xiii. 18. 25.] This simi-
litude must not be pressed to an alle-
gorical or symbolical meaning in its de-
tails, e.g. so that the rain, floods, and

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VIII. 1, 2.

ST. MATTHEW.

came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and
it fell not : for it was founded upon v a rock. 26 And every
one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not, shall be nkened unto a foolish man, which built his
house upon the sand : 27 and the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ;
and it fell : and great was the fall of it. *& And it came
to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, dthe people d3^!{- f£
were astonished at his doctrine : 29 for he taught them as
one having authority, and not as w the scribes.

VIII. 1 When he was come down from the mountain,
great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came
a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt,

Ti.2. Lake
iv.SS. John
▼U.M.

v render, the.

winds should mean three distinct kinds of
temptation; hut the Bock, as signifying
Him who spoke this, is of too frequent use
in Scripture for us to overlook it here:
cf. 2 Sam. xxii. 2 [Ps. xviii. 2], 82, 47;
xxiii. 3 : Ps. xxviii. 1 ; xxxi. 2, «1. fr. ;
lxi. 2 : Isa. xxvi.4 (Heb.); xxxii. 2; xliv.8
(Heb.) : 1 Cor. x. 4, &c. He founds his
house on a rock, who, hearing the words
of Christ, brings his heart and life into
accordance with His expressed will, and is
thus by faith in union with Him, founded
on Him. Whereas he who merely hears
His words, but does them not, has never
dug down to the rock, nor become united
with it, nor has anv stability in the hour
of trial. In the roek, — the sand, —

the articles are categorical, importing
that these two were usually found in the
country where the discourse was deli-
vered ; — in the rain, the floods, the winds,
the same, implying that such trials of the
stability of a house were common. In
the whole of the similitude, reference is
probably made to the prophetic passage
Isa. xxviii. 15—18. 27. great] All

the greater, because such an one as here
supposed is a professed disciple — hearing
these sayings— and therefore would have
the further to fall in case of apostasy.

89.1 Chrysostom's comment is, "For
He did not say what He said on the
authority of others, quoting Moses or the
prophets, but every where alleging Him-
self to be the One who had the power.
For when giving the law, he ever added,
' But I say to you* shewing that He him-
self was the Judge."

Chap. VIII. 1 — 4.] Healing op a
lepxb. Mark i. 40—46. Luke v. 12—14.
We have now (in this and the following
Vol. I.

w read, their.

chapter), as it were, a solemn procession of
miracles, confirming the authority with
which our Lord had spoken. 2.] This

same, miracle is related by St. Luke with-
out any mark of definiteness, either as to
time or place, — "And it came to pass,
when he was in a certain city .- . ." In
this instance there is, and can be, no doubt
that the transactions are identical: and
this may serve us as a key-note, by which
the less obvious and more intricate harmo-
nies of these two narrations may be ar-
ranged. The plain assertion of the account
in the text requires that the leper should
have met our Lord on His descent from the
mountain, while great multitudes were
following Him. The accounts in St. Luke
and St. Mark require no such fixed date.
This narrative therefore fixes the occur-
rence. I conceive it highly probable that
St. Matthew was himself a hearer of the
Sermon, and one of those who followed
our Lord at this time. From St. Luke's
account, the miracle was performed in, or
rather, perhaps, in the neighbourhood of,
some city : what city, does not appear.
As the leper is in all three accounts related
to have come to Jesus ("And behold" im-
plying it in Luke), he may have been out-
side the city, and have run into it to our
Lord. a leper] The limits of a note

allow of only an abridgment of the most
important particulars relating to this dis-
ease. Bead Leviticus xiii. xiv. for the
Mosaic enactments respecting it, and its
nature and symptoms. See also Exod. iv.
6 : Num. xii. 10 : 2 Kings v. 27 ; xv. 5 :
2 Chron. xxvi. 19, 21. The whole ordi-
nances relating to leprosy were symbolical
an4 typical. The disease was not conta-
gious : so that the view which makes them
E

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

VIII

thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his
hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.
And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. * And Jesus
saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way,

mere sanitary regulations is ont of the ques-
tion. The fact of its non-contagious nature
has been abundantly proved by learned
men, and is evident from the Scripture
itself: for the priests had continually to
be in close contact with lepers, even to
handling and examining them. We find
Naaman, a leper, commanding the armies
of Syria (2 Kings v. 1) ; Gehazi, though a
leper, is conversed with by the king of
Israel (2 Kings viii. 4, 5) j and in the
examination of a leper by the priest, if a
man was entirely covered with leprosy, he
was to be pronounced clean (Levit. xiii.
12, 13). The leper was not shut out from
the synagogue, nor from the Christian
churches. Besides, the analogy of the
other uncleannesses under the Mosaic law,
e. g. having touched the dead, having an
issue, which are joined with leprosy (Num.
v. 2), shews that sanitary caution was not
the motive of these ceremonial enactments,
but a far deeper reason. This disease was
specially selected, as being the most loath-
some and incurable of all, to represent the
effect of the defilement of sin upon the once
pure and holy body of man. "Leprosy
was, indeed, nothing short of a living death,
a poisoning of the springs, a corrupting of
all the humours, of life ; a dissolution, little
by little, of the whole body, so that one
limb after another actually decayed and
fell away." (Trench on the Miracles,
p. 213.) See Num. xii. 12. The leper was
the type of one dead in sin : the same em-
blems are used in his misery as those of
mourning for tho dead : the same means of
cleansing as for uncleanness through con-
nexion with death, and which were never
used except on these two occasions. Com-
pare Num. xix. 6, 13, 18, with Levit. xiv.
4—7. All this exclusion and mournful
separation imported the perpetual exclusion
of the abominable and polluted from the
true city of God, as declared Rev. xxi. 27.
And David, when after his deadly sin he
utters his prayer of penitence, ' Purge me
with hyssop, and I shall be clean/ Ps. li.
7, doubtless saw in his own utter spiritual
uncleanness, that of which the ceremonial
uncleanness that was purged with hyssop
was the type. Thus in the above-cited
instances we find leprosy inflicted as the
punishment of rebellion, lying, and pre-
sumption. 'I put the plague of leprosy
in an house ' (Levit. xiv. 34), ' Remetn,ber
what the Lord thy God did to Miriam '

(Deut. xxiv. 9), and other passages, point
out this plague as a peculiar infliction
from God. "The Jews termed it 'the
finger of God,' and emphatically 'The*
stroke.' They said that it attacked first
a man's house; and if he did not turn,
his clothing; and then, if he persisted in
sin, himself. So too, they said, that a
man's true repentance was the one con-
dition of his leprosy leaving him." Trench,
p. 216. The Jews, from the prophecy Isa.
liii. 4, had a tradition that the Messiah
should be a leper. worshipped him]

"falling on his face" Luke v. 12 ; "kneel-
ing to him" Mark i. 40. These differences
of expression are important. See begin-
ning of note on this verse. Lord] Not
here merely a title of respect, but an ex-
pression of faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
"This is the right utterance of * Lord,'
which will never be made in vain." Stier.
When Miriam was a leper, " Moses cried
unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O
God, 1 beseech thee," Num. xii. 13.
8. touched him] He who just now ex-
pansively fulfilled the law by word and
commands, now does the same by act and
deed : the law had forbidden the touching
of the leper, Levit. v. 3. It was an act
which stood on the same ground as the
healing on the Sabbath, of which we have
so many instances. So likewise the pro-
phets Elyah and Elisha touched the dead
m the working of a miracle on them
(1 Kings xvii. 21 : 2 Kings iv. 34). The
same almighty power which suspends
natural laws, supersedes ceremonial laws.

Here is a noble example illustrating
His own precept so lately delivered, '.Give
to him that asketh thee.' Again, we can
hardly forbear to recognize, in His touching
the leper, a deed symbolic of His taking on
him, touching, laying hold of, our nature.
The same remarkable word is used in the
Greek in Luke xiv. 4, "and taking hold
of him, he healed him," and in Heb. ii. 16,
" He taketh not hold of angels, but he
taketh hold of the seed of Abraham."

4. See thou tell no man] Either
(1) these words were a moral admonition,
having respect to the state of the man
("teaching him not to boast and seek
admiration," as Chrysostom), for the in-
junction to silence was not our lord's
uniform practice (See Mark v. 19, || L.),
and in this case they were of lasting
obligation, that the cleansed leper was not

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3—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

shew thyself to the priest, and • offer the gift that Moses aJ;y0,TXiT-3
commanded, for a testimony unto them.

5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there
came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 and saying,
Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and
heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am
not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but
speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under

to make his healing a matter of boast
hereafter ; or (2) they were a cautionary
admonition, only binding till he should
have shewn himself to the priest, in order
to avoid delay in this necessary duty, or
any hindrance which might, if the matter
should first be blazed abroad, arise to his
being pronounced clean, through the ma-
lice of the priests ; or (8), which I believe
to be the true view, our Lord almost uni-
formly repressed the fame of His miracles,
for the reason given in ch. xii. 15—21,
that, in accordance with prophetic truth,
He might be known as the Messiah not by
wonder-working power, but by the great
result of His work upon earth : see \sh.
xii. 16—19. Thus the Apostles always
refer primarily to the Resurrection, and
only incidentally, if at all, to the wonders
and suns. (Acts ii. 22—24; iii. 18—16.)
These latter were tokens of power common
to our Lord an4 his followers ; but in His
great conflict, ending in His victory, He
trod the winepress alone. shew thy-

•elf to the priest] Bead Levit. xiv. 1—32.
This command has been used in support
of the theory of satisfaction by priestly
confession and penance. But even then
(Trench on the Miracles, p. 221, where
see instances cited) the advocates of it are
constrained to acknowledge that Christ
alone is the cleanser. It is satisfactory to
observe this drawing of parallels between
*the Levities! and (popularly so called)
Christian priesthood, thus completely shew-
ing the fallacy and untenableness of the
whole system ; all those priests being types,
not of future human priests, but of Him,
who abideth a Priest for ever in an un-
changeable priesthood, and in Whom not
a class of Christians, but all Christians,
are in the true sense priests unto God.

a testimony unto them] Atesti-
them. The

mony both to, and against
man disobeyed the injunction, so that our
Lord could no more enter the city openly :
see Mark i. 45.

E 2

6—18.] Healing of the cbntubion's
servant. Luke vii. 1 — 10, where we have
a more detailed account of the former part
of this miracle. On the chronological ar-
rangement, see Introduction. The cen-
turion did not himself come to our Lord,
but sent elders of the Jews to Him, who
recommended him to His notice as loving
their nation, and having built them a
synagogue. Such variations, the concise
account making a man do by himself what
the fuller one relates that he did by another,
are common in all written and oral narra-
tions. In such cases the fuller account is,
of course, the stricter one. Augustine,
answering Faustus the Manichssan, who
wished, on account of the words of our
Lord in ver. 11, to set aside the whole,
and used this variation for that purpose,
makes the remark, so important in these
days, "Does not our human custom fur-
nish abundance of such instances ? Shall
we read, and forget how we speak ? Could
we expect that Scripture would speak with
us otherwise than in our own manner ? "
On the non-identity of this miracle with
that in John iv. 46 ff., see note there.
5. centurion] he was a Qentile, see
ver. 10, but one who was deeply attached
to the Jews and their religion; possibly,
though this is uncertain, a proselyte of
the gate (no such term as "devout"
"fearing Ood'* is used of him, as com-
monly of these proselytes, Acts, x. 2 al.).
8.] From Luke we learn that
it was " a slave, who was precious to
him." The centurion, perhaps, had but
one slave, see ver. 9. 8.J The cen-

turion heard that the Lord was coming,
Luke vii. 6, and sent friends to Him with
this second and still humbler message.
He knew and felt himself, as a heathen,
to be out of the fold of Ood, a stranger
to the commonwealth of Israel ; and there-
fore unworthy to receive under his roof
the Redeemer of Israel. 0.] The

meaning is, ' I know how to obey, being

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ST. MATTHEW.

VIII.

me : and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth ; and to
another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do
this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he mar-
velled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto
you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
bLnk«xiiL». n ^n(j j ^y unto you, b That many shall come from the
east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
ch.xxi.48. isaac^ and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But cthe
x children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer dark-
ness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way ; and as
thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his ser-
vant was healed in the selfsame hour.

14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw
dicw.ix.5. his a wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. ]6 And he
touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose,
and ministered unto y them.

16 When the even was come, they brought unto him
x render, SOILS . y read, him.

myself under authority : and in turn know
how others obey, having soldiers under
me:' inferring, 'if then I, in my sub-
ordinate station of command, am obeyed,
how mnch more Thou, who art over all,
and whom diseases serve as their Master ! '
That this is the right interpretation, is
shewn by our Lord's special commendation
of his faith, ver. 10. 10. marvelled]

to be accepted simply as a fact, as when
Jesus rejoiced, wept, was sorrowful; not,
as some have foolishly done, to be ra-
tionalized away into a mere lesson to teach
ue what to admire. The mysteries of our
Lord's humanity are too precious thus to
be sacrificed to the timidity of theologians.
12. the ions] the natural heirs,
but disinherited by rebellion. outer

darkness] the darkness outside, i. e. out-
side the lighted chamber of the feast, see
ch. xxii. 13, and Eph. v. 7, 8. These verses
are wanting in St. Luke, and occur when
our Lord repeated them on a wholly dif-
ferent occasion, ch. xiii. 28, 29. Compare
a remarkable contrast in the Rabbinical
books illustrating Jewish pride : " God said
to the Israelites, In the world to come
I will spread for you a vast table, which
the Gentiles shall see and be confounded."
13. was healed] Of what precise
disease does not appear. In Luke he was
•• ready to die " — here he is «« tick of the
palsy, grievously tormented'* But though
these descriptions do not agree with the

character of palsy among us, we read of a
similar case in 1 Mace. ix. 55, 56 : "At
that time was Alciinus plagued, and his
enterprises hindered: for his mouth was
stopped, and he was taken with a palsy, so
that he could no more speak any thing,
nor order any thing concerning his house.
So Alcimus died at that time with great
torment." The disease in the text may
have been an attack of tetanus, which
the ancient physicians included under
paralysis, and which is more common in
hot countries than with us. It could
hardly have been apoplexy, which usually
bereaves of sensation.
14—17.] Healing op Pbteb'b wife's

MOTHEB, AND MANT OTHEBB. Mark 1.

29—34. Luke iv. 38 — 41. From the other
Evangelists it appears, that our Lord had
just healed a deemoniac in the synagogue
at Capernaum : for they both state, ' when
they were come out of the synagogue, they
entered into the house of Simon and An-
drew,' Ac. Both Mark and Luke are fuller
in their accounts than the text. The ex-
pression (of the fever) it left her, is com-
mon to the three, as is also the circum-
stance of her ministering immediately
after : shewing that the fever left her, not,
as it would have done if natural means
had been used, weak and exhausted, but
completely restored. 16.] at sunset,

Mark ver. 32 : Luke ver. 40. From St
Mark we learn that the whole city woe

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10—20.

ST. MATTHEW.

many that were possessed with devils : and he east out the
spirits with *Ais word, and healed all that were sick:
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias
the prophet, saying, e Himself took our infirmities, and
bare our sicknesses. 18 Now when Jesus saw great multi-
tudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto
the other side. 19 And a certain scribe came, and said
unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. 2° And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes,
and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man

e Iia. lili. 4.
1 Pet. ii. U.

1 render, a : see Luke vii. 7.

collected at the door; from St. Luke, that
the dmmons cried out and said, 'Thou
art Christ the Son of God.' And from
both, that our Lord permitted them not to
speak, for they knew Him. They brought
the sick in the evening, either because it
was cool, — or because the day's work was
over, and men could be found to carry
them, — or perhaps because it was the sab-
bath (see Mark i. 21, 29, 32), which ended
at sunset. 17.] The exact sense in

which these words are quoted is matter of
difficulty. Some understand took and bare
as merely ' took away/ and • healed.' But
besides this being a very harsh interpre-
tation of both words, it entirely destroys
the force of Himself, and makes it ex-
pletive. Others suppose it to refer to the
personal fatigue, (or even the spiritual ex-
haustion, [Olshausen,] which perhaps is
hardly consistent with sound doctrine,)
which our Lord felt by these cures being
long protracted into the evening. But I
believe the true relevancy of the prophecy
is to be sought by regarding the mira-
cles generally to have been, as we know so
many of them were, lesser and typical out-
shewings of the great work of bearing the
sin of the world, which He came to ac-
complish ; just as diseases themselves, on
which those miracles operated, are all so
many testimonies to the existence, and
types of the effect, of sin. Moreover in
these His deeds of mercy, He was 'touched
with the feeling of our infirmities :' wit-
ness His tears at the grave of Lazarus,
and His sighing over the deaf and dumb
man, Mark vii. 34. The very act of com-
passion is (as the name imports) a suffer-
ing with its object; and if this be true
between man and man, how much more
strictly so in His case who had taken upon
Him the whole burden of the sin of the
world, with all its sad train of sorrow and
suffering.

18 — ix. 1.] jb8ub cbos8e8 the lake.
Incidents bbeobe bmbabking. He
stills the stobm. healing op two

DJiMONIACS IN THE LAND OF THE Ga-

dabenes. Mark iv. 35— v. 20 : Luke ix.
57—60; viii. 22—39, on which passages
compare the notes. 18.1 It is ob-

viously the intention of St. Matthew to
bind on the following incidents to the oc-
currence which he had just related.
19.] Both, the following incidents are
placed by St. Luke long after, during our
Lord's last journey to Jerusalem. For it
is quite impossible (with Qreswell, Diss,
iii. p. 156 sq.) in any common fairness of
interpretation, to imagine that two such
incidents should have twice happened, and
both times have been related together. It
is one of those cases where the attempts of
the Harmonists do violence to every prin-
ciple of sound historical criticism. Every
such difficulty, instead of being a thing to
be wiped out and buried up at all hazards
(I am sorry to see, e. g., that Dr. Wordsw.
takes no notice, either here or in St.
Luke, of the recurrence of the two nar-
ratives), is a valuable index and guide to
the humble searcher after truth, and is
used by him as such (see Introduction).
80. the Bon of man] "It is
thought that this phrase was taken from
Daniel vii. 13, to which passage our Saviour
seems to allude in ch. xxvi. 64, and pro-
bably Stephen in Acts vii. 56. It ap-
pears from John xii. 34, that the Jews
understood it to mean the Messiah: and
from Luke xxii. 69, 70, that they con-
sidered the Son of Man to mean the same
as the Son of God." Dr. Burton. It is
the name by which the Lord ordinarily
in one pregnant word designates Himself
as the Messiah — the Son of God mani- •
fested in the flesh of man — the second
Adam. And to it belong all those con-
ditions, of humiliation, suffering, and ex-

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ST. MATTHEW.

VIII.

f Mel King*
xlx.JO.

hath not where to lay his head. 21 And another of his
disciples said unto him, f Lord, suffer me first to go and
bury my father. ^ But Jesus said unto him, Follow me ;
and let the dead bury their dead.

23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples
followed him. s* And, behold, there arose a great tempest
in the sea, insomuch that the ship was ft covered with the
waves; but he was asleep. 26 And his disciples came to
him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of
k*xix.i. little faith? Then he arose, and * rebuked the winds and

*Ps.lxr.&-7

i«xix.r

eriLM.

a render, being covered.

altation, which it behoved the Son of Man
to go through. 81.] In St. Luke we

find, that oar Lord previously commanded
Mm to follow Him. Clement of Alexandria
reports this as having been said to Philip*
Bnt if so, He had long ago ordered Philip
to follow Him, taking St. Lake's order of
the occurrence. A tradition of this natnre
was hardly likely to be wrong; so that
perhaps the words Follow me are to be
taken (as in John xxi. 19, 22) as an admo-
nition occasioned by some slackness or
symptom of decadence on the part of the
Apostle. The attempt to evade the strong
words of oar Lord's command by supposing
that to bury my father means, ' to reside
with my father till hie death* (Theophy-
lact), is evidently futile, since "first to go
and bury" is plainly said of an act waiting
to be done; and the reason of oar Lord's
rebuke was the peremptory and all-super-
seding nature of the command "Follow
me." 22. the dead] First time, as

Rev. iii. 1, spiritually, — second, literally
dead. The two meanings are similarly
used iu one saying by our Lord in John xi.
25, 26. See Heb. vi. 1; ix, 14: and the
weighty addition in Luke, ver. 62.
28.] This journey across the lake, with its
incidents, is placed by St. Mark and St.
Luke after the series of parables com-
mencing with that of the sower, and re-
corded in ch. xiii. By Mark with a precise
note of sequence : " the same day, when the
even was come, he saith unto them," Mark
iv. 85. 24. being covered] compare

Mark iv. 87: Lukeviii.28. By keeping to
the strict imperfect sense, we obviate all
necessity for qualifying these words: the
ship was becoming covered, &c. All lakes
bordered by mountains, and indeed all hilly
coasts, are liable to these sudden gusts of
wind. 26.] Lord, save us : we perish =
Master, carest thou not that we perish,

Mark iv. 88 = Master, Master, we perish,
Luke viii. 24. On these and such like
variations, notice the following excellent and
important remarks of Augustine : " The
sense of the disciples waking the Lord and
seeking to be saved, is one and the same :
nor is it worth while to enquire which of
these three was really said to ChrUt. For
whether they said any one of these three,
or other words which no one of the Evan-
gelists has mentioned, but of similar import
as to the truth of the sense, what matters
it ? " We may wish that he had always
spoken thus. Much useless labour might
have been spared, and men's minds led to
the diligent enquiry into the real difficulties
of the Gospels, instead of so many spending
time in knitting cobwebs. But Augustine
himself in the very next sentence descends
to the unsatisfactory ground of the Har-
monists, when he adds. " Though it may be
also, that when many were calling upon
Him, all these may haveJbeen said, one by
one, another by another." His mind how-
ever was not one to rest contented with
such sophisms ; and all his deeper and more
earnest sayings are in the truer and freer
spirit of the above extract. The above
remarks are more than ever important, now
that a reaction towards the low literal har-
monistic view has set in, and the inspiration
of the mere letter is set up against those
who seek for life in searching the real
spirit of the Scriptures.
26.] The time of this rebuke in the text
precedes, but in Mark and Luke follows,
the stilling of the storm. See the last
note. They were of little faith, in that
they were afraid of perishing white they
had on board the slumbering Saviour:
they were not faithless, for they had re-
course to that Saviour to help them. There-
fore He acknowledges the faith which
they had ; answers the prayer of faith, by

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£1—28,

ST. MATTHEW.

the sea; and there was a great calm. *7 But the men
marvelled, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even
the winds and the sea ohey him ?

28 And when he was come to the other side into the
country of the D Gergesenes, there met him two possessed
with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,

D read, Gadarenes.

working a perfect calm : but rebukes them
for not haying the stronger, firmer faith,
to trust Him even when He seemed in-
sensible to their danger. The symbolic
application of this occurrence is too striking
to bave escaped general notice. The Saviour
with the company of His disciples in the
ship tossed on the waves, seemed a typical
reproduction of the Ark bearing mankind
on the flood, and a foreshadowing of the
Church tossed by the -tempests of this
world, but having Him with her always.
And the personal application is one of
comfort, and strengthening of faith, in
danger and doubt. 37. the men]

The men who were in the ship, besides
our Lord and His disciples. 28.]

Among the difficulties attendant on this
narrative, the situation and name of the
place where the event happened are not
the least. Origen discusses the three, Ge-
rasa, which he found in the text in his
time, but pronounces to be a city of Arabia,
having no sea or lake near it, — Gadara,
which he found in a few MSS., but disap-
proves, as a city of Judsea, not near any lake
or sea with cliffs;— and Gergesa, which he
says is a city on the lake of Tiberias, with
a cliff hanging over the lake, where the
spot of the miracle was shewn. Notwith-
standing this, it appears very doubtful
whether there ever was a town named
Gergesha (or -sa) near the lake. There were
the Gergashites (Joseph, i. 6. 2) in former
days, but their towns had been destroyed
by the Israelites at their first irruption,
and never, that we hear of, afterwards
rebuilt (see Deut. vii. 1 : Josh. xxiv. 11).
Gerasa (now Dscherasch) lies much too fur
to the East. The town of Gadara, alluded
to in the text, was a strong chief city in
Peraea, opposite Scythopolis and Tiberias to
the East, in the mountain, at whose foot were
the well-known warm baths. It was on
the river Hieromax, and sixty stadia from
Tiberias, a Greek city (see reff. to Jose-
phus and Eusebius in my Gr. Test.). It
was destroyed in the civil wars of the
Jews, and rebuilt by Pompeias, presented
by Augustus to King Herod, and after
his death united to the province of
Syria. It was one of the ten cities of De-

capolis. Burckhardt and others believe
that they have found its ruins at Omkeis,
near the* ridge of the chain which divides
the valley of Jordan from that of the sea of
Tiberias. The territory of this city might
well extend to the shore of the lake. It
may be observed, that there is nothing in
any of the three accounts to imply that
the city was close to the scene of the
miracle, or the scene of the miracle close
to the herd of swine, or the herd of swine,
at the time of their possession, close to the
lake. Indeed the expression " a good wag
off from them" ver. 30, implies the con-
trary with regard to the swine. It ap-
pears, from Burckhardt, that there are
many tombs in the neighbourhood of the
ruins of Gadara to this day, hewn in the
rock, and thus capable of affording shelter.
It may be well in fairness to observe, that
" Gergesenea " can hardly have arisen, as
sometimes represented, entirely from Ori-
gen's conjecture, as it pervades so many
MSS. and ancient (it is true, not the most
ancient) versions. We cannot say that a
part of the territory of Gadara may not
have been known to those who, like Mat-
thew, were locally intimate with the shores
of the lake, by this ancient and generally
disused name. Still however, we are, I
conceive, bound in a matter of this kind to
follow the most ancient extant testimony.
See further on the parallel places in
Mark and Luke. two possessed

with devils] In Mark v. 2, and Luke
viii. 27, but one is mentioned. All three
Evangelists have some particulars pecu-
liar to themselves; but Mark the most,
and the most striking, as having evidently
proceeded from an eye-witness. The " we
ore many " of Mark is worth noticing, in
reference to the discrepancy of number in
the two accounts, as perhaps connected
with the mention of more than one by our
Evangelist, who omits the circumstance
connected with that speech. exceed-

ing fierce] See the terribly graphic ac-
count of St. Mark (v. 3—6). The d«ino-
niac was without clothes, which though re-
lated only by St. Luke (viii. 27), yet, with
remarkable consistency, appears from St.
Mark's narrative, where he is described as

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ST. MATTHEW.

VIII.

so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold,
they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
[° Jesus ,] thou Son of God ? art thou come hither to tor-
ment us before the time ? 80 And there was a good way
off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the
devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us
to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto
them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into

0 omit.

sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at
Jesus's feet, after his cure. so that

no man] Peculiar to this Gospel. 29.]
before the time, is peculiar to this Gos-
pel : Bon of God, common to all.
30. a good way off] The Vulgate rendering,
" not far off" does not seem accordant with
the other accounts, both of which imply
distance: Mark v. 11 : Luke viii. 32. These,
especially the first, would seem to imply that
the swine were on the hills, and the scene
of the miracle at some little distance, on
the plain. 81.] St. Mark and St. Luke

give, as the ground of this request, that
they might not be sent out of the land =
into the abyss, i. e. out of their permitted
residence on earth to torment before the
time in the abyss. See note on Luke.
82.] This remarkable narrative
brings before us the whole question of
demoniacal possessions in the Gos-
pels, which 1 shall treat here once for all,
and refer to this note hereafter. I

would then remark in general, (1. 1) that
the Gospel narratives are distinctly pledged
to the historic truth of these occurrences.
Either they are true, or the Gospels are false.
For they do not stand in the same, or a
similar position, with the discrepancies in
detail, so frequent between the Evangelists :
but they form part of that general ground-
work in which all agree. (2) Nor can it
be said that they represent the opinion of
the time, and use words in accordance with
it. This might have been difficult to answer,
but that they not only give such expressions
as possessed with devils, damtonixed (Mark
v. 16 : Luke viii. 36), and other like ones,
but relate to us words spoken by the Lord
Jesus, in which the personality and pre-
sence of the daemons is distinctly implied.
See especially Luke zi. 17 — 26. Now either
our Lord spoke these words, or He did not.
If He did not, then we must at once set aside
the concurrent testimony of the Evangelists
to a plain matter of fact ; in other words
establish a principle which will overthrow
equally every met related in the Gospels.
If He did, it is wholly at variance with

any Christian idea of the perfection of
truthfulness in Him who was Truth itself,
to suppose Him to have used such plain
and solemn words repeatedly, before His
disciples and the Jews, in encouragement
of, and connivance at, a lying supersti-
tion. (3) After these remarks, it will be
unnecessary to refute that view of demo-
niacal possession which makes it iden-
tical with mere bodily disease, — as it is
included above ; but we may observe, that
it is every where in the Gospels distin-
guished from disease, and in such a way
as to shew that, at all events, the two
were not in that day confounded. (See
ch. iz. 32, 33, and compare Mark vii. 32.)
(4) The question then arises, Granted the
plain historical truth qfdmmoniacal pos-
session, what was it? This question,
in the suspension, or withdrawal, of the
gift of ' discerning of spirits ' in the mo-
dern Church, is not easy to answer. But
we may gather from the Gospel narratives
some important ingredients for our de-
scription. The demoniac was one whose
being was strangely interpenetrated ('pos-
sessed ' is the most exact word that could
be found) by one or more of those fallen
spirits, who are constantly asserted in
Scripture (under the name of damons,
evil spirits, unclean spirits, their chief
being the devil or Satan) to be the enemies
and tempters of the souls of men. (See
Acts v. 3 : John xiii. 2, and passim.) He
stood in a totally different position from
the abandoned wicked man, who morally is
given over to the devil. This latter would
be a subject for punishment; but the
demoniac for deepest compassion. There
appears to have been in him a double will
and double consciousness — sometimes the
cruel spirit thinking and speaking in him,
sometimes his poor crushed self crying out
to the Saviour of men for mercy : a ter-
rible advantage taken, and a personal
realization, by the malignant powers of
evil, of the fierce struggle between sense
and conscience in the man of morally
divided life. Hence it has been not im-

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29—33.

ST. MATTHEW.

the [d herd of] swine : and, behold, the whole herd of swine
ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished
in the waters. M And they that kept them fled, and went
their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what

* omitted by our earliest MSS.

probably supposed, that some of these
demoniacs may have arrived at their
dreadful state through various progressive
degrees of guilt and sensual abandonment.
* Lavish sin, and especially indulgence in
sensual lusts, superinducing, as it would
often, a weakness in the nervous system,
which is the especial band between body
and soul, may have laid open these un-
happy ones to the fearful incursions of
the powers of darkness.' (Trench on the
Miracles, p. 160.) (5) The frequently urged
objection, How comes it that this malady
is not now among us ? admits of an easy
answer, even if the assumption be granted.
The period of our Lord's being on earth
was certainly more than any other in the
history of the world under the dominion
of evil. The foundations of man's moral
-being were broken up, and the * hour and
power of darkness' prevailing. Trench
excellently remarks, 'It was exactly the
crisis for such soul-maladies as these, in
which the spiritual and' bodily should be
thus strangely interlinked, and it is no-
thing wonder&il that they should have
abounded at that time; for the predo-
minance of certain spiritual maladies at
certain epochs of the world's history which
were specially fitted for their generation,
with their gradual decline and disappear-
ance in others less congenial to them, is
a fact itself admitting no manner of ques-
tion' (pp. 162, 163). Besides, as the
same writer goes on to observe, there can
be no doubt that the coming of the Son
of God in the flesh, and the continual
testimony of Jesus borne by the Church in
her preaching and ordinances, have broken
and kept down, in some measure, the
grosser manifestations of the power of
Satan. (See Luke x. 18.) But (6) the
assumption contained in the objection
above must not be thus unreservedly
granted. We cannot tell in how many
cases of insanity the malady may not even
now be traced to direct damioniacal pos-
session. And, finally, (7) the above view,
which I am persuaded is the only one
honestly consistent with any kind of belief
in the truth of the Gospel narratives, will
offend none but those who deny the exist-
ence of the world of spirits altogether, and
who are continually striving to narrow the
limits of our belief in that which is in-

visible; a view which at every step in-
volves difficulties far more serious than
those from which it attempts to escape.
But (II.) a fresh difficulty is here found in
the latter part of the narrative, in which
the devils enter into the swine, and their
destruction follows, (1) Of the reason of
this permission, we surely are not com-
petent judges. Of this however we are
sure, that ' if this granting of the request
of the evil spirits helped in any way the
cure of the man, caused them to resign
their hold on him more easily, mitigated
the paroxysm of their going forth (see
Mark ix. 26), this would have been motive
enough. Or still more probably, it may
have been necessary, for the permanent
healing of the roan, that he should have
an outward evidence and testimony that
the hellish powers which held him in
bondage had quitted him.' (Trench, p. 172.)
(2) The destruction of the swine is not for
a moment to be thought of in the matter,
as if that were an act repugnant to the
merciful character of our Lord's miracles.
It finds its parallel in the cursing of the
fig-tree (ch. xxi. 18 — 22); and we may
well think that, if God has appointed so
many animals daily to be slaughtered for
the sustenance of men's bodies, He may
also be pleased to destroy animal life when
He sees fit for the liberation or instruction
of their souls. Besides, if the confessedly
far greater evil of the possession of men by
evil spirits, and all the misery thereupon
attendant, was permitted in God's in-
scrutable purposes, surely much more this
lesser one. Whether there may have been
special reasons in this case, such as the
contempt of the Mosaic law by the keepers
of the swine, we have no means of judg-
ing : but it is at least possible. (3) The
fact itself related raises a question in our
minds, which, though we cannot wholly
answer, we may yet approximate to the
solution of. How can we imagine the
bestial nature capable of the reception of
demoniac influence? If what has been
cited above be true, and the unchecked
indulgence of sensual appetite afforded an
inlet for the powers of evil to possess the
human dssmoniac, then we have their in-
fluence joined to that part of man's nature
which he has in common with the brutes
that perish, the animal and sensual soul.

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ST. MATTHEW.

VIII. 34.

was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 8* And, be-
hold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus : and when
hS!IiKto^i *ne7 saw nim> ^ney h besought him that he would depart
Lute1?: a. out of their coasts. IX. l And he entered into a ship, and
passed over, and came into his own city.

2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the
palsy, lying on a bed : and Jesus seeing their faith said
unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy
sins be forgiven [e thee] .

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within them-
'iMk'ln ^^ ^kis man blasphemeth. * And Jesus 'knowing

fe™47:vxi?i7. their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your
cuxix. t. hearts ? 6 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be for-

6 omit.

We may thus conceive that the same
animal and sensual soul in the brute may
be receptive of similar demoniacal influ-
ence. But with this weighty difference :
that whereas in man there is an individual,
immortal spirit, to which alone belongs his
personality and deliberative will and rea-
son, and there was ever in him, as we
have seen, a struggle and a protest against
this tyrant power ; the oppressed soul, the
real * 1/ calling out against the usurper —
this would not be the case with the brute,
in whom this personality and reflective
consciousness is wanting. And the result
in the text confirms our view ; for as soon
as the dromons enter into the swine, their
ferocity, having no self-conserving balance
as in the case of man, impels them head-
long to their own destruction. 84.]
This request, which is related by all three
Evangelists, was probably not from hu-
mility, but for fear the miraculous powers
of our Lord should work them still more
worldly loss. For the additional particulars
of this miracle, see Mark v. 15, 16, 18 -20 :
Luke viii. 85, and notes. IX. 1.] Cer-
tainly this verse should be the sequel of
the history in the last chapter. It is not
connected with the miracle following ;—
which is placed by St. Luke at a different
time, but with the indefinite introduction
of " it came to pass on a certain day"
his own city] Capernaum, where
our Lord now dwelt : cf. ch. iv. 18.
2 — 8.] Healing op a pap.ai.ytio at
Capernaum. Mark ii. 1 — 12 : Luke v. 17
— 26, in both of which the account is
more particular. 8. their faith]
Namely, in letting him down through the
roof, because the whole house and space
round the door was full, Mark ii. 4.
their must be supposed to include the sick

man, who was at least a consenting party
to the bold step which they took. These
words are common to the three Evan-
gelists, as also " thy sins be forgiven*9
Neander has some excellent re-
marks on this man's disease. Either it
was the natural consequence of sinful in-
dulgence, or by its means the feeling of
sinfulness and gnilt was more strongly
aroused in him, and he recognized the
misery of his disease as the punishment
of his sins. At all events spiritual and
bodily pain seem to have been connected
and interchanged within him, and the
former to have received accession of
strength from the presence of the latter.
Schleiermacher supposes the haste of these
bearers to have originated in the prospect
of our Lord's speedy departure thence;
but, as Neander observes, we do not know
enough of the paralytic's own state to be
able to say whether there may not have
been some cause for it in the man him-
self. 4. knowing] lit., seeing: viz.
by the spiritual power indwelling in Him.
See John ii. 24, 25. No other inter-
pretation of such passages is admissible.
St. Mark's expression, "perceived in hit
spirit" is more precise and conclusive.
From wherefore to thine house is common
(nearly verbatim) to the three Evangelists.
5.] " In our Lord's argument it must
be carefully noted, that He does not ask,
which is easiest, to forgive sins, or to raise
a sick man — for it could not be affirmed
that that of forgiving was easier than this -
of healing — but, which is easiest, to claim
this power or that, to say, Thy sins be
forgiven thee, or to say, Arise and walk ?
That (i. e. the former) is easiest, and I will
now prove my right to say it, by saying
with effect and with an outward conse-

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IX. 1—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

given [' thee] \ or to say, Arise, and walk ? ft But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to
forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise,
take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose,
and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes
saw it, they 8 marvelled, and glorified God, which had given
such power unto men.

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man,
named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom : and he
6aith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed

* omit. S read, were afraid.

quence setting its seal to my truth, the
harder word, Arise and walk. By doing
that, which is capable of being put to the
proof, I will vindicate my right and power
to do that which in its very nature is in-
capable of being proved. By these visible
tides of God's grace I will* give you to
know in what direction the great under-
currents of His love are setting, and that
both are obedient to My word. From
this, which I will now do openly and be-
fore you all, you may conclude that it is
'no robbery'- (Phil. ii. 6, but see note
there) upon my part to claim also the
power- of forgiving men their sins." Trench
on the Miracles, p. 206. 6. the Son

of man] The Messiah : an expression re*
garded by the Jews as equivalent to " the
Christ, the Son of God," ch. xxvi. 68.
See also John v. 27. " The Alexandrian
Fathers, in their conflict with the Nes-
torians, made use of this passage in proof
of the entire transference which there was
of all the properties of Christ's divine
nature to His human ; so that whatever
one had, was so far common, that it might
also be predicated of the other. It is quite
true that had not the two natures been
indissolubly knit together in a single Per-
son, no such language could have been
used; yet I should rather suppose that
'Son of Man' being the standing title
whereby the Lord was well pleased to
designate Himself, bringing out by it that
He was at once one with humanity, and
the crown of humanity, He does not so
use it that the title is every where to be
pressed, but at times simply as equivalent
to Messiah." Trench, p. 208. on

earth] Distinguished from uin heaven"
as in ch. xvi. 19 ; xviii. 18. Bengel finely
remarks, " This saying savours of heavenly
origin." The Son of Man, as God mani-
fest in man's flesh, has on man's earth
that power, which in its fountain and
essence belongs to God in heaven. And

this not by delegation, but "because He
(being God) is the Son of Man." John
v. 27. then saith he]] See a similar

interchange of the persons m construction,
Geu. iii. 22, 23. 8. unto men] Not

Slur, for sing. 'to a man,' nor, 'for the
enefit of men;' but to mankind. They
regarded this wonder-working as some-
thing by God granted to men — to man-
kind; and without supposing that they
had before them the full meaning of their
words, those words were true in the very
highest sense. See John xvii. 8. In
Mark they say, " We never saw it in this
fashion:" in Luke, "We have seen strange
things to-day."

9 — 17.] The calling op Matthew :
the feast consequent on it : en-
qttiby of John's disciples respecting

PASTING: — AND OTJB LoBD'S AN8WBE.

Mark ii. 18—22: Luke v. 27—39. Our
Lord was going out to the sea to teach,
Mark, ver. 13. All three Evangelists con-
nect this calling with the preceding mira-
cle, and the subsequent entertainment.
The real difficulty of the narrative is the
question as to the identity of Matthew in
the text, and Levi in Mark and Luke. I
shall state the arguments on both sides.
(1) There can be no question that the
three narratives relate to the same event.
They are identical almost verbatim : in-
serted between narratives indisputably
relating the same occurrences. (2) The
almost general consent of all ages has sup-
posed the two persons the same. On
the other hand, (3) our Gospel makes not
the slightest allusion to the name of Levi,
either here, or in ch. x. 3, where we find
" Matthew the publican " among the Apos-
tles, clearly identified with the subject of
this narrative: whereas the other two Evan-
gelists, having in this narrative spoken of
Levi in their enumerations of the Apos-
tles (Mark iii. 18 ; Luke vi. 15), mention
Matthew without any noU of identifica-

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ST. MATTHEW.

IX.

Jch.xi \9.
Luke xt. 1.

him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the
house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat
down with him and his disciples. n And when the Pha-
risees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your
Master with * publicans and sinners ? 1S But when Jesus
heard that, he said [* unto theni] , They that be whole need
not a physician, but they that are sick. 1S But go ye and

n omit.

Hon with the Levi called on this occasion.
This is almost inexplicable, on the suppo-
sition of his having borne both names.
(4) Early tradition separatee the two
persons. Clement of Alexandria, quoting
from Heracleon the Gnostic, mentions
Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many-
others, as eminent men who had not suf-
fered martyrdom from a public confession
of the faith. (5) Again, Origen, when Cel-
8us has called the Apostles publicans and
sailors, after acknowledging Matthew the
publican, adds, "And there may be also Levi
a publican among Jesus's followers. But
he was not of the number of His Apostles,
except according to some copies of Mark's
Gospel." It is not quite clear from this,
whether the copies of Mark substituted
Levi's (?) name for Matthew's, or for some
other : but most probably the latter. (6)
It certainly would hence appear, as if
there were in ancient times an idea that
the two names belonged to distinct per-
sons. But in the very passages where it is
mentioned, a confusion is evident, which
prevents us from drawing any certain con-
clusion able to withstand the general
testimony to the contrary, arising from
the prima facie view of the Gospel narra-
tive. (7) It is probable enough that
St. Matthew, in his own Gospel, would
mention only his apostolic name, seeing
that St. Mark and St. Luke also give him
this name, when they speak of him as an
Apostle. (8) It is remarkable, as an in-
dication that St. Matthew's frequently
imprecise manner of narration did not
proceed from want of information,— that
in this case, when he of all men must have
been best informed, his own account is the
least precise of the three. (9) With re-
gard to the narrative itself in the text, we
may observe, that this solemn and peculiar
calf seems (see ch. iv. 19, 22) hardly to
belong to any hut an Apostle ; and that,
as in the case of Peter, it here also implies
a previous acquaintance and discipleship.
(10) We are told in Luke v. 29, that Levi
made him a great feast in his house; and,
similarly, Mark has " in his house" The.

narrative in our text is so closely identical
with that in Mark, that it is impossible to
suppose, with Greswell, that a different
. feast is intended. The arguments by
which he supports his view are by no
means weighty. From the words the
house, he infers that the house was not
that of Matthew, but that in which our
Lord usually dwelt, which he supposes to
be intended in several other places. But
surely the article might be used without
any such significance, or designating any-
particular house,— as'would be very likely
if Matthew himself is here the narrator.
Again, Greswell presses to verbal accuracy
the terms used in the accounts, and at-
tempts to shew them to be inconsistent
with one another. But surely the time is
past for such dealing with the historic
text of the Gospels ; and, besides, he has
overlooked a great inconsistency in his
own explanation, viz. that of making in
the second instance, according to him.
Scribes and Pharisees present at the feast
given by a Publican, and exclaiming
against that which they themselves were
doing. It was not at, but after the feast
that the discourse in w. 11 — 17 took
place. And his whole inference, that the
great feast must be the great meal in the
day, and consequently in the evening,
hangs on too slender a thread to need
refutation. The real difficulty, insuperable
to a Harmonist, is the connexion here of
the raising of Jaeirus's daughter with this
feast : on which see below, ver. 18.
11.] These Pharisees appear to have been
the Pharisees of the place: Luke has
" their Scribes and Pharisees." The very
circumstances related shew that this re-
monstrance cannot have taken place at the
feast. The Pharisees say the words to the
disciples : our Lord hears it. This denotes
an occasion when our Lord and the dis-
ciples were present, but not surely inter-
mixed with the great company of publi-
cans. 12. whole . . . sick] Both
words, in the application of the saying,
must be understood subjectively (an ironical
concession, as Calvin, Meyer); as referring

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10—16.

ST. MATTHEW.

learn what that meaneth, kI will have mercy, and not k S&i^vte-
sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, ! but i i'tS*. lis!"
sinners [* to repentance] .

14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why
do we and the Pharisees mfast oft, but thy disciples fast m1^nk6XTiu-
not ? 16 And Jesus said unto them, Can the n * children of " **" m'M*
the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with
them ? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall
be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16 No man

1 omit, k render, sons.

to their respective opinions of themselves ;
as also righteous and sinners, ver. 13 :—
not aa though the Pharisees were objec-
tively either "whole" or "righteous,"
however much objective % truth "tick"
and "tinner*" may have* had as applied
to the publicans and sinners.
13.] The whole of this discourse, with
the exception of the citation, is almost
verbatim in Mark, and (with the ad-
dition of "to repentance") Luke also.

14.] According to the detailed nar-
rative of St. Mark (ii. 18) it was the dis-
ciples of John and of the Phariseee who
asked this question. St. Luke continues
the discourse as that of the former Phari-
sees and Scribes. This is one of those
instances where the three accounts imply
and confirm one another, and the hints
incidentally dropped by one Evangelist
form the prominent assertions of the other.

The fasting often of the disciples of
John must not be understood as done in
mourning for their master's imprisonment,
but as belonging to the asceticism which
John, as a preacher of repentance, incul-
cated. On the fasts of the Pharisees, see
Lightfoot in loc. 16. mourn] =

"fast," Mark and Luke. The difference
of those two words is curiously enough one
of Greswell's arguments for the non-
identity of the narratives. Even if there
were any force in such an argument, we
might fairly set against it that the Greek
word rendered taken is common to all
three Evangelists, and occurs no where
else in the N. T. the bridegroom]

This appellation of Himself had from our
Lord peculiar appropriateness as addressed
to the disciples of John. Their master
had himself used the figure, and the very
word in John iii. 29. Our Lord, in calling
Himself the Bridegroom, announces the
fulfilment in Him of a whole cycle of
0. T. prophecies and figures: very pro-
bably with immediate reference to Hosea
ii, that prophet having been cited just

before : but also to many other passages,
in which the Bride is the Church of God,
the Bridegroom the God of Israel. See
especially Isa. It v. 5.— 10 Heb. and E. V.
As Stier (i. 320, edn. 2) observes, the
article the here must not be considered as
merely introduced on account of the para-
ble, as usual elsewhere, but the parable
itself to have sprung out of the emphatic
name, "the bridegroom." The sons of
the bridechamber are more than the mere
guests at the wedding : they are the
bridegroom's friends who go and fetch the
bride. the days will come] How

sublime and peaceful is this early an-
nouncement by our Lord of the bitter
passage before Him ! Compare the words
of our Christian poet : * measuring with
calm prestige the infinite descent.' It has
been asked, " What man ever looked so
calmly, so lovingly, from such a height
down to such a depth !" shall be]

more properly, shall have been taken from
them : when His departure shall have
taken place. and then shall (better,

will) they fast] These words are not a de-
claration of a duty, or of an ordinance, as
binding on the Church in the days of her
Lord's absence : the whole spirit of what
follows is against such a supposition : but
they declare, in accordance with the pa-
rallel word " mourn," that in those days
they shall have real occasion for fasting;
sorrow enough ; see John xvi. 20 : — a fast
of God's own appointing in the solemn
purpose of His will respecting them, not
one of their own arbitrary laying on.
This view is strikingly brought out in
Luke, where the question is, "Can ye
make the sons, &c. fast" i. e. by your
rites and ordinances P " but, &c." and
then shall they fast : there is no constraint
in this latter case : they shall (will) fast.
And this furnishes us with an analogous
rule for the fasting of the Christian life :
that it should be the genuine offspring of
inward and spiritual sorrow, of the sense

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ST. MATTHEW.

IX.

putteth a piece of 1new cloth unto an old garment, for
that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment,
and m the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new
wine into old bottles : else the bottles break, and the wine
runneth out, and the bottles perish : but they put new wine
into new bottles, and both are preserved.

18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there
1 literally, un-fiilled. m render, a worse rent is made.

of tho absence of the Bridegroom in the
soul, — not the forced and stated fasts of
the old covenant, now passed away. It is
an instructive circumstance that in the
Reformed Churches, while those stated
fasts which were retained at their first
emergence from Popery are in practice
universally disregarded even by their best
and holiest eons, — nothing can be more
affecting and genuine than the universal
and solemn observance of any real occa-
sion of fasting placed before them by God's
Providence; It is also remarkable how
uniformly a strict attention to artificial
and prescribed fasts accompanies a hanker-
ing after the hybrid ceremonial system of
Rome. Meyer remarks well that

then refers to a definite point of time, not
to the whole subsequent period.
16.] Our Lord in these two parables con-
trasts the old and the new, the legal and
evangelic dispensations, with regard to
the point on which He was questioned.
The idea of the wedding seems to run
through them; the preparation of the
robe, the pouring of the new wine, are
connected by this as their leading idea to
one another and to the preceding verses.
The old system of proscribed fasts
for fasting's sake must not be patched
with the new and sound piece ; the com-
plete and beautiful whole of Gospel light
and liberty must not be engrafted as a
mere addition on the worn-out system of
ceremonies. For the filling it up, the
completeness of it, the new patch, by its
weight and its strength pulls away the
neighbouring weak and loose threads by
which it holds to the old garment, and a
worse rent is made. Stier notices the
prophetic import of this parable : in how
sad a degree the Lord's saying has been
fulfilled in the History of the Church, by
the attempts to patch the new, the Evan-
gelic state, upon the old worn-oat cere-
monial system. ' Would/ he adds, * that
we could say in the interpretation, as in
the parable, No man doeth this I ' The
robe must be all new, all consistent : old
things, old types, old ceremonies, old
burdens, sacrifices, priests, sabbaths, and

holy days, all are passed away: behold
all things are become new. a worse

rent if made] a worse rent, because the
old, original rent was included within the
circumference of the patch, whereas this
is outside it. 17.] This parable is

not a repetition of the previous one, but a
stronger and more exact setting forth of
the truth in hand. As is frequently oar
Lord's practice in His parables, He ad-
vances from the immediate subject to
something more spiritual and higher, and
takes occasion from answering a cavil,
to preach the sublimest truths. The gar-
ment was something outward; this wine
is poured in, is something inward, the
spirit of the system. The former parable
respected the outward freedom and simple
truthfulness of the New Covenant ; this
regards its inner spirit, its pervading prin-
ciple. And admirably does the parable
describe the vanity of the attempt to keep
the new wine in the old shin, the old cere-
monial man. unrenewed in the spirit of his
mind : the thine are broken : the new wine
is something too living and strong for so
weak a moral frame ; it shatters the fair
outside of ceremonial seeming; and the
wine runneth out, the spirit is lost; the
man is neither a blameless Jew nor a
faithful Christian ; both are spoiled. And
then the result : not merely the damaging,
but the utter destruction of the vessel, —
the skins perish. According to some ex-
positors, the new patch and new wine
denote the fatting ; the old garment and
old bottles, the disciples. This view

is stated and defended at some length by
Neander; but I own seems to me, as to
De Wette, far-fetched. For how can fast-
ing be called a patch of new (unfulled)
cloth, or how compared to new wineP
And Neander himself, when he comes to
explain the important addition in Luke
(on which see Luke v. 39, and note), is
obliged to change the meaning, and un-
derstand the new wine of the spirit of the
Gospel. It was and is the custom in the
East to carry their wine on a journey in
leather bottles, generally of goats' skin,
sometimes of asses' or camels' skin.

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17-26.

ST. MATTHEW.

came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My
daughter is even now dead : but come and lay thy hand
upon her, and she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose, and fol-
lowed him, and so did his disciples. 20 And, behold, a
woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve
years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his gar-
ment : 21 for she said within herself, If I may but touch
his garment, I shall be whole. 22 But Jesus turned him
about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good
comfort; ftthy faith hath made thee whole. And the •SSti1!"*01
woman was made whole from that hour. 23 And when w
Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels
and the people making a noise, ^ he said unto them,
• Give place : for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And
they laughed him to scorn. 26 But when the people were
put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the
maid arose. M And the fame hereof went abroad into all
that land.

designates the particular tassel which was
touched. 22.] The cure was effe :ted

on her touching our Lord's garment, Mark
v. 27 — 29 : Luke viii. 44. And our Lord
enquired who touched Him (Mark, L ike),
for He perceived that virtue had gone out
of Him (Luke). She, knowing what had
been done to her, came fearing and trem-
bling, and told Him all. 24.] No
inference can be drawn from these word*
as to the fact of the maiden's actual
death ; for our Lord uses equivalent words
respecting Lazarus (John xi. 11). And if
it be answered that there He explains the
sleep to mean death, we answer, that this
explanation is only in consequence of the
disciples misunderstanding his words. In
both cases the words are most probably
used with reference to the speedy awaken-
ing which woe to follow ; " Think not the
damsel dead, but sleeping; for she shall
soon return to life." Luke- appends, after
" they laughed him to scorn,"—" knowing
that she was dead" in which words there
is at least no recognition by the Evan-
gelist of a mere apparent death.
25.] took her by the hand is common to
the three Evangelists. From Luke we
learn that our Lord said " Maid, arise :"
from Mark we have the words He actually
uttered, Talitha Cum : from both we learn
that our Lord only took with him Peter,
James, and John, and the father and
mother of the maiden, — that she was
twelve years old, — and that our Lord com-
manded that something should be given

18 — 26.] Raising of Jabibus's

DAUGHTEB, AND HEALING OP A WOMAN

with an issue of blood. Mark V.
21 — 43 : Luke viii. 41—56. In Luke and
Mark this miracle follows immediately
after the casting out of the devils at
Gadara, and our Lord's recrossing the
lake to Capernaum ; but without any pre-
cise note of time as here. He may well
have been by the sea (as seems implied by
Mark and Luke), when the foregoing con-
versation with the disciples of John and
the Pharisees took place. The account in
the text is the most concise of the three ;
both Mark and Luke, but especially the
latter, giving many additional particulars.
The miracle forms a very instructive point
of comparison between the three Gospels.
18. a certain ruler] A ruler of the
synagogue, named Jaeirus. In all except
the connecting words, "while ^he spake
these things unto them,*' the account in the
text is summary, and deficient 'in particu-
larity. I have therefore reserved full an-
notation for the account in Luke, which
see throughout. is even now dead]

She was not dead, but dying ; at the last
extremity. St. Matthew, omitting the
message from the ruler's house (Mark v.
35 : Luke viii. 49), gives the matter sum-
marily in these words. 20.] The
" hem," see ref. Num., was the fringe or
tassel which the Jews were commanded to
wear on each corner of their outer gar*
ment, as a sign that they were to be holy
unto Qod. The article, as in ch. xiv. 36,

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ST. MATTHEW.

IX. 27—38.

b eh. xt. IS:
zz.8Q.81:
andparal-

cch.Tlll. 4:
xiL 18: XTii.
9. Mark til.

27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men fol-
lowed, crying, and saying, Thou b son of David, have mercy
on us. M And when he was come into the house, the
blind men came to him : and Jesus saith unto them, Be-
lieve ye that I am able to do this ? They said unto him,
Yea, Lord. 29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, Ac-
cording to your faith be it unto you. M And their eyes
were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying,
c See that no man know it. 81 But they, when they were
departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a
dumb man possessed with a devil. 3S And when the devil

her to eat. She was an only daughter,
Luke viii. 42.

27 — 81.] Healing op two blind
MSN. Peculiar to Matthew. 27.] de-

parted thence is too vague to he taken as a
fixed note of sequence ; for «* thence " may
mean the hoiue of Jaeirus, or the town
itself, or even that part of the country, —
as ver. 26 has generalized the locality, and
implied some pause of time. son of

David] a title of honour, and of recog-
nition as the Messiah. It is remark-
able that, in all the three narratives of
giving sight to the blind in this Qospel,
the title Son of David appears.
28. the house] perhaps, as Euthymius,
the house of some disciple. Or, the house
which our Lord inhabited at Capernaum ;
or perhaps the expression need not mean
any particular house, merely, as we some-
times use the expression, the house, as
opposed to the open air. to do this]

i. e. the healing, implied in " have mercy
on us." 29.] Touching, or anoint-

ing the eyes, was the ordinary method
which our Lord took of impressing on the
blind the action of the divine power which
healed them. Ch. xx. 34 : Mark viii. 25 :
John ix. 6. In this miracle however we
have this peculiar feature, that no direct
word of power passes from our Lord, but
a relative concession, making that which
was done a measure of the faith of the
blind men : and from the result the degree
of their faith appears. Stier remarks,
" We may already notice, in the history of
this first period of our Lord's ministry,
that, from having at first yielded imme-
diately to the request for healing, He
begins, by degrees, to prove and exercise
the faith of the applicants." 80.

straitly charged] 'JThe word is said to
mean " to command with threatening'*
*'to enjoin austerely" The purpose of

our Lord's earnestness appears to have
been twofold : (1) that He might not be
so occupied and overpressed with applica-
tions as to have neither time nor strength
for the preaching of the Gospel: (2) to
prevent the already-excited people from
taking some public measure of recognition,
and thus arousing the malice of the Phari-
sees before His hour was come. No
doubt the two men were guilty of an act
of disobedience in thus breaking the Lord's
solemn injunction : for obedience is better
than sacrifice; the humble observance of
the word of the Lord, than the most labo-
rious and wide-spread will-worship after
man's own mind and invention. Trench
(Miracles, p. 197) well remarks, that the fact
of almost all the Romish interpreters having
applauded this act, " is very characteristic,
and rests on very deep differences."

82—84.] Healing of a dttxb de-
moniac. Peculiar to Matthew. The
word as they went ont places this miracle
in direct connexion with the foregoing.
This narration has a singular affinity with
that in ch. xii. 22, or still more with its
parallel in Luke xi. 14. In both, the same
expression of wonder follows; the same
calumny of the Pharisees ; only that in ch.
xii. the daemoniac is said (not in Luke xi.)
to have been likewise blind. These cir-
cumstances, coupled with the immediate
connexion of this miracle with the cure of
the blind men, and the mention of * the
Son of David ' in both, have led some to
suppose that the account in ch. xii. is a
repetition, or slightly differing version of
the account in our text, intermingled also
with the preceding healing of the blind.
But the supposition 6eems unnecessary, —
as, the habit of the Pharisees once being
to ascribe our Lord's expulsion of devils
to Beelzebub, the repetition of the re-
mark would be natural:— and the other

Digitized by VjOOQIC

X. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes mar-
velled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel. 3* But the
Pharisees said, d He casteth out devils through the prince d «*• *«■ *■
of the devils. 86 And e Jesus went about all the cities and • XSJvW8'
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the LukexU1M-
gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
every disease [n among the people] . 3fl But when he saw
the multitudes, fhe was moved with compassion on them, fMarkTiw-
because they ° fainted, and were scattered abroad, *as sheep* »«*■ gvii.
having no shepherd. 8? Then saith he unto his disciples, liVxxxiv.
h The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few ; »' Zech"x"
38 pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will JohttlTM-
send forth labourers into his harvest.

X. l And when he had called unto him his twelve dis-
ciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all man-

0 read, were harassed.

ritually, with the tyranny of the Scribes
and Pharisees, their heavy burdens, ch.
xxiii. 4. Mattered abroad] neglected,

cast hither and thither, as sheep would be
who had wandered from their pasture.
The context shews that our Lord's com-
passion was excited by their being without
competent spiritual leaders and teachers.
87.] The harvest was primarily
that of the Jewish people, the multitudes
of whom before Him excited the Lord's
compassion. Chrysostom remarks that we
see not only our Lord's freedom from vain-
glory, in sending out his disciples rather
than drawing all notice to Himself, but
His wisdom, in giving them this prelimi-
nary practice for their future work:
making, as he expresses it, Palestine a
palastra for the world. The Lord,

says Chrysostom, having given this com-
mand, does not join them in such a prayer,
but Himself sends them out as labourers
— shewing plainly that He Himself is the
Lord of the harvest, and recalling to them
the Baptist's image of the threshing-floor,
and One who shall purge it.

X. 1— XI. 1.] Mission op thb Twelve
APO8TLE8. Mark vi. 7—13 : Luke ix. 1—
6,— for the sending out of the Apostles :
Mark iii. 18—19 : Luke vi. 13— 16,— for
their names. On the characteristic differ-
ences between this discourse and that de-
livered to the Seventy (Luke x. 1 ff.) see
notes there. Notice, that this is not

the choosing, but merely the mission of
the twelve. The choosing had taken place
some time before, but is not any where dis-
P

n omit.

coincidences, though considerable, are not
exact enough to warrant it. This was a

dumbness caused by demoniacal posses-
sion: for the difference between this and
the natural infirmity of a deaf and dumb
man, see Mark vii. 31 — 87. 88. so

seen] viz. the casting out of devils: —
* never was seen to be followed by such
results as those now manifested/ See
above.

85—88.] Otje Lobd's compassion pob
the multitude. Peculiar to Matthew.
In the same way as ch. iv. 23 — 25 intro-
duces the Sermon on the Mount, so do
these verses the calling and commission-
ing of the Twelve. These general de-
scriptions of our Lord's going about and
teaching at once remove all exactness of
dots from the occurrence which follows —
as taking place at some time during the
circuit and teaching just described. Both
the Sermon on the Mount and this dis-
course are introduced and closed with
these marks of indefiniteness as to time.
This being the case, we must have re-
course to the other Evangelists, by whose
account it appears (as indeed may be im-
plied in ch. x. 1), that the Apostles had
been called to their distinct office some
time before this. (See Mark iii. 16 : Luke
vi. 13.) After their calling, and selection,
they probably remained with our Lord for
some time before they were sent out upon
their mission. 88. the multitudes]

Wherever He went, in all the cities.
harassed] plagued,— viz. literally,
with weariness in following Him ; or spi-
Vol. I.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

ner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are
uobni.42. these; The first, Simon, 'who is called Peter, and Andrew

tinctly detailed by the Evangelists. i. 13. All seem to follow one common out-

2.] We have in the N. T.four catalogues line, bnt fill it up very differently. The

of the Apostles : the present one, — and following table will shew the agreements

those at Mark iii. 16, — Luke vi. 14, — Acts and differences :—

| Matthew z. 2.

Mark iii. 16.

| Luke vi. 14.

Acts i. 13.

Simon Peter

2 | Andrew

James

| Andrew

John

James

John

| James

James

John

Andrew

| John

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas

7 | Thomas

Matthew

Bartholomew

8 | Matthew

Thomas

Matthew

James (the son) of Alphneus.

Lebb»us

Thaddaeus

Simon called
Zelotes

Simon Zelotes

11 | Simon the

Canansean

| Judas (the bro.) of James.

12 | Judas lscariote8

Judas Iscarioth

Vacant

From this it appears (1), that in all four
three classes are enumerated, and that
each class contains (assuming at present
the identity of Lebb&us with Thaddaus,
and of Thaddseus with Judas (the brother
of James), the same persons in all four, but
in different order, with the following ex-
ceptions: — that (2) Peter, Philip, James
(the son P) of Alphams, and Judas Iscariot
hold the same places in all four. (3) That
in the first class the two arrangements are
(a) that of Matt, and Luke (Qospel), —
Peter and Andrew, brothers; James and
John, brothers; — i.e. according to their
order of calling and connexion, and with
reference to their being sent out in couples,
Mark vi. 7: (b) Mark and Luke (Acts),
— Peter, James, John, (the three princi-
pal,) and Andrew ;— i. e. according to their
personal pre-eminence. In the second
class (c), that of Matt., Mark, and Luke
(Qospel), — Philip and Bartholomew, Mat-
thew and Thomas, — i.e. in couples: (d)
Luke (Acts),— Philip, Thomas, £arth.,
Matthew (reason uncertain). In the third
class (e), Matt, and Mark,— James (the
son p) of Alphams and (Lebb.) Thaddaus,
Simon the Cananaan and Judas Iscariot ;
i. e. in couples : (f) Luke (Gosp. and Acts)
James (the son P) of Alphams, Simon Zelo-
tes, Judas (the brother ?) of James and Judas
Iscariot (uncertain), (g) Thus in allfour,
the leaders of the three classes are the
same, viz. Peter, Philip, and James (the
son?) of Alphams; and the traitor is
always last. (4) It would appear then
that the only difficulties are these two:

the identity of Lebbseus with Thaddams,
and with Judas (the brother ?) of James, and
of Simon the Canansean with Simon Zelotes.
These will be discussed under the names.
The first] Not only as regards ar-
rangement, or mere priority of calling, but
as first in rank among equals. This is clearly
shewn from James and John and Andrew
being set next, and Judas Iscariot the
last, in all the catalogues. We find Simon
Peter, not only in the lists of the Apostles,
but also in their history, prominent on
various occasions before the rest. Some-
times he speaks in their name (Matt. xix.
27 : Luke xii. 41) ; sometimes answers
when all are addressed (Matt. xvi. 16 |j) ;
sometimes our Lord addresses him as
principal, even among the three favoured
ones (Matt. xxvi. 40: Luke zxii. 31);
sometimes he is addressed by others as
representing the whole (Matt. xvii. 24:
Acts ii. 37). He appears as the organ
of the Apostles after our Lord's ascen-
sion (Acts i. 15 ; ii. 14; iv. 8 ; v. 29) : the
first speech, and apparently that which
decided the Council, is spoken by him,
Acts xv. 7. All this accords well with the
bold and energetic character of Peter, and
originated in the unerring discernment
and appointment of our Lord Himself,
who saw in him a person adapted to take
precedence of the rest in the founding of
His Church, and shutting (Acts v. 3, 9)
and opening (Acts ii. 14, 41 ; x. 5, 46) the
doors of the kingdom of Heaven. That
however no such idea was current among
the Apostles as that he was destined to be

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2,3.

ST. MATTHEW.

his brother ; James [P the son] of Zebedee, and John his bro-
ther; s Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew
the publican ; James [P the son] of AlphsBus, and [4 Leb-

P not expressed in the original.

4 these words are variously read : see note.

the Primate of the future Church, is as
clear as the facts above mentioned. For
(1) no trace of such a pre-eminence is
found in all the Epistles of the other
Apostles ; bnt when he is mentioned, it is
either, as 1 Cor. ix. 5, as one of the Apos-
tles, one example among many, bnt in no
wise the chief ;— or as in Gal. ii. 7, 8, with
a distinct account of a peculiar province
of duty and preaching being allotted to
him, viz. the apostleahip of the circumci-
sion, (see 1 Pet. i. 1,) as distinguished from
Paul, to whom was given the apostleship
of the uncircumcision ; — or as in Gal. ii.
9, as one of the principal pillars, together
with James and John; — or as in Gal. ii.
11, as subject to rebuke from Paul as from
an equal. And (2) wherever by our Lord
Himself the future constitution of His
Church is alluded to, or by the Apostles
Us actual constitution, no hint of any such
primacy is given (see note on Matt. xvi.
18), but the whole college of Apostles are
spoken of as absolutely equal. Matt. xix.
27, 28 ; xx. 26, 28 : Eph. ii. 20, and many
other places. Again (3) in the two Epis-
tles which we have from his own hand,
there is nothing for, but every thing
against, such a supposition. He exhorts
the presbyters as being their co-presbyter
(1 Pet. v. 1) : describes himself as a par-
taker of the glory that shall be revealed :
addresses his second Epistle to them that
have obtained the like precious faith with
ourselves (2 Pet. i. 1) : and makes not the
slightest allusion to any pre-eminence over
the other Apostles. So that first here

must be understood as signifying the pro-
minence of Peter among the Apostles, as
well as his early calling. (See John i. 42.)
oalled Peter] Or Cephas, so
named by our Lord Himself (John as
above) at His first meeting with nim, and
again more solemnly, and with a direct
reference to the meaning of the name,
Matt. xvi. 18. Andrew] He, in

conjunction with John (see note on John
i. 37 — 41), was a disciple of the Baptist,
and both of them followed our Lord, on
their Master pointing Him out as the
Lamb of God. They did not however
from that time constantly accompany
Him, but received a more solemn calling
(see Matt. iv. 17—22: Luke v. 1-11)—
in the narrative of which Peter is promi-

nent, and so first called as an Apostle, at
least of those four. James (the son)

of Zebedee, and John hit brother] Part-
ners in the fishing trade with Peter and
Andrew, Luke v. 10. 8. Philip, and

Bartholomew] Philip was called by our
Lord the second day after the visit of
Andrew and John, and the day after the
naming of Peter. He was also of Beth-
saida, the city of Andrew and Peter, James
and John. Andrew and Philip are

Greek names. See John xii. 20 -22.
Bartholomew, i. e. in Heb., son of Talmai
or ToIovkbus, has been generally supposed
to be the same with Nathanael of Cana
in Galilee; and with reason: for (1) the
name Bartholomew is not his own name,
but a patronymic: — (2) He follows next
in order, as Nathanael, in John i. 46, to
the Apostles just mentioned, with the
same formula which had just been used
of Philip's own call (ver. 44),— " Philip
findeth Nathanael :"— (8) He is there, as
here, and in Mark and Luke (Gospel), in
connexion with Philip (that he was his
brother, was conjectured by Dr. Donald-
son ; but rendered improbable by the fact
that John, in the' case of Andrew a few
verses above, expressly says "he findeth
his own brother Simon," whereas in ver. 46
no such specification occurs) : — (4) in John
xxi. 2, at the appearance of our Lord on
the shore of the sea of Tiberias, Nathanael
is mentioned as present, where seven
apostles ("disciples") are recounted.
Thomas, and Matthew the Publican]
Thomas, in Greek Didymus (the twin).
John xi. 16 j xx. 24 ; xxi. 2. Matthew

the publican is clearly by this appellation
identified with the Matthew of ch. ix. 9.
We hear nothing of him, except in these
two passages. Dr. Donaldson believed
Matthew and Thomas to have been twin
brothers. Eusebins preserves a tradition
that Thomas's real name was Judas.
James (the ton) of Alpharos] From John
xix. 25, some infer (but see note there),
that Mary the (wife) of Clopas was sister
of Mary the mother of our Lord. From
Mark xv. 40, that Mary was the mother
of James ** the little," which may be this
James. Hence it would appear, if these
two passages point to the same person,
that Alphams = Clopas. And indeed the
two Greek names are but different ways
2

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

baeus, whose surname was ThaddaBUs] ; * Simon the r G*-

naanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 6 These

a see Acts 1.8. twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, *Gro

not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the

r read, Cananaean.

of expressing the Hebrew name. If this
be so, then this James the Less may pos-
sibly be " the brother of the Lord " men-
tioned Gal. i. 19 apparently as an apostle,
and one of " His brethren " mentioned
Matt. xiii. 55 (where see note) (?). Bat
on the difficulties attending this view, see
note on John vii. 5. Lebbaus] Much

difficulty rests on this name, both from the
various readings, and the questions arising
from the other lists. The received reading
appears to be a conjunction of the two
ancient ones, Lebbsus and Thaddseus : the
latter of these having been introduced
from Mark: where, however, one of the
ancient MSS. has Lebbams. Whichever of
these is the true reading, the Apostle him-
self has generally been supposed to be
identical with " Judas of James " in both
Luke's catalogues, i. e. (see note there)
Judas the brother (Dr. Donaldson sup-
posed son : see note on Lake xxiv. 13) of
James, and so son of Alphams, and com-
monly supposed to be (?) one of the bre-
thren of the Lord named Matt. xiii. 65.
In John xiv. 22 we have a 'Judas, not
Iscariot,' among the Apostles: and the
catholic epistle is written by a 'Judas
brother of James.' What in this case the
names Lebbams and Thaddseus are, is im-
possible to say. So that the whole rests
on conjecture; which however does not
contradict any known fact, and may be
allowed as the only escape from the diffi-
culty. 4. Simon the Canansean]
This is not a local name, but is derived
from Canan, which is equivalent to Zelotes
(Luke, Gospel and Acts). We may there-
fore suppose that before his conversion
he belonged to the sect of the Zealots, who
after the example of Phinehas (Num. xxv.
7, 8) took justice into their own hands, and
punished offenders against the law. This
sect eventually brought upon Jerusalem its
destruction. Judas Iscariot] Son of
Simon (John vi. 71 ; [xii. 4 various reading ;]
xiii. 2, 26). Probably a native of Kerioth
in Juda, Josh. xv. 25. Ish Kerioth, a man
of Kerioth, as Istobus, a man of Tob,
Joseph. Antt. vii. 6. 1. That the name
Iscariot cannot be a surname, as Bp. Mid-
dleton supposes, the expression " Judas
Iscariot the son of Simon/* used in all the
above places of John, clearly proves. Dr.
Donaldson assumed it as certain that the

Simon last mentioned was the father of
Judas Iscariot. But surely this is very
uncertain, in the case of so common a
name as Simon. 6. saying] If we

compare this verse with ch. xi. 1, there
can be little doubt that this discourse of
our Lord was delivered at one time and
that, the first sending of the Twelve.
How often its solemn injunctions may have
been repeated on similar occasions we can-
not say : many of them reappear at the
sending of the Seventy in Luke x. 2 ff.
Its primary reference is to the then
mission of the Apostles to prepare His
way; but it includes, in the germ, in-
structions prophetically delivered for the
miuisters and missionaries of the Gospel
to the end of time. It may be divided
into thbbb great PORTIONS, in each of
which different departments of the subject
are treated, but which follow in natural
sequence on one another. In the first
of these (vv. 5 — 15), our Lord, taking up
the position of the messengers whom He
sends from the declaration with which the
Baptist and He Himself began their mi-
nistry, " The Kingdom of heaven is at
hand" gives them commands, mostly lite-
ral, and of present import, for their mis-
sion to the cities of Israel. This portion
concludes with a denunciation of judgment
against that unbelief which should reject
their preaching. The second (w. 16—23)
refers to the general mission of the Apos-
tles as developing itself, after the Lord
should be taken from them, in preaching
to Jews and Gentiles (w. 17, 18), and
subjecting them to persecutions (vv. 21,
22). This portion ends with the end of
the apostolic period properly so called,
ver. 23 referring primarily to the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem. In tnis portion there
is a foreshadowing of what shall be the
lot and duty of the teachers of the Gospel
to the end, inasmuch as the 'coming of
the Son of Man' is ever typical of His
final coming to judgment. Still the direct
reference is to the Apostles and their mis-
sion, and the other only by inference.
The third (vv. 24—42), the longest and
weightiest portion, is spoken directly (with
occasional reference only to the Apostles
and their mission [vcr.40]) of all disciples
of the Lord, — their position,— their en-
couragements,—their duties,— and finally

Digitized by VjOOQIC

4—12.

ST. MATTHEW.

b Samaritans enter ye not : 6 but go rather to the c lost sheep b j~ f £In*«
of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go preach, saying, &°.hn Iv' '"
dThe kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick/jj*""-^
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils : freely Jwf pJtfiL*
ye have received, "freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, dch".iii.j, ir.
nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 nor scrip for your e jj^f** T"'-
journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet 8 staves :
for 'the workman is worthy of his meat. u And into f nSLVig.
whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is
worthy ; and there abide till ye go thence. la And when

■ read, a staff.

concludes with the last great reward
(ver. 42). In these first verses, 5, 6,—

we have the location; in 7, 8, the pur-
pose; in 9, 10, the fitting out; and in
11 — 14, the manner of proceeding, — of
their mission : ver. 15 concluding with a
prophetic denouncement, tending to im-
press them with a deep sense of the im-
portance of the office entrusted to them.
Samaritans] The Samaritans were
the Gentile inhabitants of the country
between Judea and Galilee, consisting of
heathens whom Shalmaneser king of As-
syria brought from Babylon and other
places. Their religion was a mixture of
the worship of the true God with idolatry
(2 Kings xvii. 24—41). The Jews had no
dealings with them, John iv. 9. They ap-
pear to havo been not so unready as the
Jews to receive our Lord and His mission
(John iv. 39—42: Luke ix. 51 ff., and
notes);— but this prohibition rested on
judicial reasons. See Acts xiii. 46. In
Acts i. 8 the prohibition is expressly taken
off: 'Ye shall be witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.'
And in Acts viii. 1, 5, 8, we find the re-
sult. See ch. xv. 21—28. 6. the
lost sheep]* See besides reff., ch. ix. 86:
John x. 16. 7.] This announcement
shews the preparatory nature of this first
apostolic mission. Compare, as shewing
the difference of their ultimate message to
the world, Col. i. 26—28. 8. freely,
&c.] See Acts viii. 18—20. 9. Pro-
vide neither . . .] All the words following
depend on this verb, and it is explained by
the parallel expressions in Mark and Luke.
They were to make no preparations for
the journey, but to take it in dependence
on Him who sent them, just as they
were. This forbidden provision would be
of three kinds (1) Money: in Mark (vi. 8)
(literally) ** brass," in Luke(ix.3) " silver r
here all the three current metals in order

of value, connected by the nor, intro-
ducing a climax — no gold, nor yet silver,
nor yet brass— in their girdles (so, lite-
rally, Luke x. 4). In the Greek it is,
' no gold, nor even silver, nor even brass.'
So again in ver. 10. (2) Food : here scrip,
in Mark " no scrip, no bread ;" similarly
Luke. (8) Clothing— neither two coats:
so Mark and Luke.— neither shoes ; in
Mark expressed by " be shod with san^
dais .*" explained in Luke x. 4 by " carry
no shoes," i. e. a second pair.— nor yet a
staff = " save a staff only " Mark. They
were not to procure expressly for this
journey even a staff: they were to take
with them their usual staff only. The
missing of this explanation has probably
led to the reading staves both here and
in Luke. If it be genuine, it does not
mean two staves; for who would ever think
of taking a spare staff? but a staff each.
The whole of this prohibition was tempo-
rary only ; for their then journey, and no
more. See Luke xxii. 35, 86. 10. for

the workman . . .] This is a common truth
of life — men give one who works for them
his food and more ; here uttered however
by our Lord in its highest sense, as applied
to the workmen in His vineyard. See
1 Cor. ix. 13, 14: 2 Cor. xi. 8: 3 John 8.
It is (as Stier remarks, vol. i. p. 352, ed. 2)
a gross perversion and foolish bondage to
the letter, to imagine that ministers of
congregations, or even missionaries among
the heathen, at this day are bound by the
literal sense of our Lord's commands in
this passage. But we must not therefore
imagine that they are not bound by the
spirit of them. This literal first mission
was but a foreshadowing of the spiritual
subsequent sending out of the ministry
over the world, which ought therefore in
spirit every where to be conformed to
these rules. 11. worthy] Inclined to

receive yon and your message,— worthy
that you should become his guest. Such

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ST. MATTHEW.

ye come into an house, salute it. 1S And if the house be

worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not
t p.. xxxt. u. worthy, let your peace * return to you. l* And whosoever

shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart
hA?u IwAu ou^ °f that bouse or city, h shake off the dust of your feet.
iSxlm,^ 16 Verily I say unto you, lIt shall be more tolerable for the

land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than

for that city.

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
W^Sv'Jo w°lves: De ve therefore kwise as serpents, and harmless
m chLxldT.8i. as doves. *? But beware of men : for they will m deliver
n Acta r. 40. you up to the councils, and they will "scourge you in their

persons in this case would be of the same
kind as those spoken of Acts xiii. 48 as
"disposed to eternal life" (see there).
The precept in this verse is very much
more fully set forth by Luke, x. 7 ff.
till ye go thence] i. e. Until ye depart
out of the city. 13.] The peace men-

tioned is that in the customary Eastern
salutation, Peace be with you. Luke has
Peace be to this house (x. 5). Compare with
the spirit of w. 10— 13,— ch. vii. 6. Stier
remarks that the spirit of these commands
binds Christian ministers to all accus-
tomed courtesies of manner in the coun-
tries and ages in which their mission may
lie. So we find the Greek salutation in-
stead of the Jewish form of greeting,
Acts xv. 23: James i. 1. And the same
spirit forbids that repelling official pride
by which so many ministers lose the affec-
tions of their people. And this is to be
without any respect to the worthiness or
otherwise of the inhabitants of the house.
In the case of unworthiness, ' let your
peace return (See Isa. xlv. 23) to you,'
l. e. * be as though you had never spoken
it.' 14.] See Acts, in the references.

A solemn act which might have two
meanings : (1) as Luke x. 11 expresses at
more length, — « We take nothing of yours
with us, we free ourselves from all con-
tact and communion with you ;' or (2), —
which sense probably lies beneath both
this and ver. 13, ' We free ourselves from
all participation in your condemnation:
will have nothing in common with those
who have rejected God's message.' See
1 Kings ii. 5, where the shoes on the feei
arc mentioned as partakers in the guilt
of blood. It was a custom of the Phari-
sees, when they entered Judeea from a
Gentile land, to do this act, as renouncing
all communion with Gentiles: those then
who would not receive the apostolic mes-
sage were to be treated as no longer

Israelites, but Gentiles. Thus the verse
forms a kind of introduction to the next
portion of the discourse, where the future
mission to the Gentiles is treated of.
The or city brings in the alternative;
" house, if it be a house that rejects you,
city, if a whole city." 15.] The first

verily I say unto yon; with which ex-
pression our Lord closes each portion of
this discourse. day of judgment,

i. e. of final judgment, = '* that da* "
Luke x. 12. It must be noticed that this
denunciatory part, as also the command
to shake off the dust, applies only to the
people of Israelt who had been long pre-
pared for the message of the Gospel by
the Law and the Prophets, and recently
more particularly m by John the Baptist;
and in this sense" it may still apply to
the rejection of the Gospel by professing
Christians; but as it was not then ap-
plicable to the Gentiles, so neither now
can it be to the heathen who know not
God.

16—28.] Second pabt of the dis-
course. See above on ver. 5, for the
subject of this portion. 16.] I is not

without meaning. It takes up again the
subject of their sending, and reminds them
Who sent them. tend forth, Gr.

apostello, is in direct connexion with their
name Apostles. sheep in the midst

of wolves] This comparison is used of the
people of Israel in the midst of the Gen-
tiles, in a Rabbinical work cited by Stier :
see also Ecclus. xiii. 17. 17. beware]

The wisdom of the serpent is needed for
this part of their course ; the simplicity of
the dove for the take not anxious thought
in ver. 19. The but turns from the

internal character to behaviour in regard
of outward circumstances. councils]

See Acts iv. 6, 7; v. 40. They are the
courts of seven (on which see Dent. xvi.
18), appointed in every city, to take

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IS— 22.

ST. MATTHEW.

synagogues; 18 and ye shall be brought before "governors 0^JB=^W»
and ° kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and STlmi?-,«-
the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, * take no
thought how or what ye shall speak : for Pit shall be given p JSt^* "*
yon in that same hour what ye shall speak. 2° For it is
not ye that speak, but the * Spirit of your Father which qJ.8T^JrIi-
speaketh in you. 21 r And the brother shall deliver up the 5 mm.1*, is,
brother to death; and the father the child: and the chil- »"• ▼▼■».«•
dren shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to
be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake: but ahe that endureth to the end shall 0Oh-ulTls-
* render, take not anxious thought,
of causes both civil and cri- nishes, and God alone, His Christ, His

cognizance

minal, ch. v. 21: here perhaps pat for
any courts of assembly in general. The
scourging in the svnagoffues is supposed
to have been inflicted by order of the
Tribunal of Three, who judged in them.
18. and] literally, yea ; and more-
over; assuming what has just been said,
and passing on to something more,
governors— Proconsuls, Propraetors, Pro.
curators, as (Pontius Pilate,) Felix, Festus,
Gallio, Sergius Paulus. kings, as

(Herod,) Agrippa. The former verse was
of Jewish persecution; this, of Oentile :
the concluding words shew that the
scope of both, in the divine purposes, as
regarded the Apostles, was the same, vis.
for a testimony. The " testimony " is in
both senses—a testimony to, and against
them (see ch. viii. 4, note), and refers to
both sets of persecutors : to (hem, i. e. the
Jews (not the "rulers and kings," for they
are inmost cases Gentiles themselves), and
to the Gentiles. It was a testimony in the
best sense to Sergius Paulus, Acts xiii. 7,
but against Felix, Acts xxiv. 25 ; and this
doable power ever belongs to the word of
God as preached -it is a "two-edged
sword" Rev. i. 16; ii. 12). 19. take

not anxious (or distracting) thought] A
spiritual prohibition, answering to the
literal one in w. 9, 10. See Exodus iv.
12. 20. For it is not ye . . . .1

This shewB the reference of the command
to a future mission of the Apostles, see
John xt. 26, 27. (1) It is to be observed
that our Lord never in speaking to His
disciples says our Father, but either my
Father (ch. xviii. 10), or your Father (as
here), or both conjoined (John xx. 17);
never leaving it to be inferred that God is
in the same sense His Father and our Fa-
ther. (2) It is also to be observed that
in the great work of God in the world,
human individuality sinks down and va-

Spirit, is the worker. 21.]

Spoken perhaps of official information
given against Christians, as there are no
female relations mentioned. But the
general idea is also included. 22, aU

men] i. e. all else but yourselves ; not, as
sometimes interpreted, a strong expres-
sion, intended to signify many, or the
majority of mankind. but he that

endureth] In order to understand these
words it is necessary to enter into the
character of our Lord's prophecies respect-
ing His coming, as having an immediate
literal, and a distant foreshadowed fulfil-
ment. Throughout this discourse and the
great prophecy in ch. xxiv., we find the
first apostolic period used as a type of the
whole ages of the Church ; and the ven-
geance on Jerusalem, which historically
put an end to the old dispensation, and
was in its place with reference to that
order of things, the coming of the Son of
Man, as a type of the final coming of the
Lord. These two subjects accompany and
interpenetrate one another in a manner
wholly inexplicable to those who are un-
accustomed to the wide import of Scrip-
ture prophecy, which speaks very generally
not so much of events themselves, points
of time, — as of processions of events, all
ranging under one great description.
Thus in the present case there is certainly
direct reference to the destruction of Jeru-
salem ; the end directly spoken of is that
event, and the shall be saved the preser-
vation provided by the warning after-
wards given in ch. xxiv. 15 — 18. And the
next verse directly refers to the journeys
of the Apostles over the actual cities of
Israel, territorial, or where Jews were
located. But as certainly do all these
expressions look onwards to the great final
coming of the Lord, the end of all pro-
phecy; as certainly the shall be saved

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ST. MATTHEW.

1 h^if^ii1.8' ^ saved. *& But twhen they persecute you in this city,
!?' iSuViuL' flee ye into another : for verily I say unto you, Ye shall
JJT* t *r\ no* u ^ave 9one over ^ne c^eB °^ Israel, u ti|l the Son of man

""' ' become.

Yjohnxiii.ic. a* vThe disciple is not above his master, nor the servant
above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be

wj£h£lTiiL*48, a8 hi8 master, and the servant as his lord. w If they have

M* called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more

shall they call them of his household ? * Fear them not

*y«rkiT.M. therefore: xfor there is nothing covered, that shall not be
*■ revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 2? What I

11 render, finish.

here bears its full scripture meaning, of
everlasting salvation ; and the endurance
to the end is the finished course of the
Christian; and the precept in the next
Terse is to apply to the conduct of
Christians of all ages with reference to
persecution, and the announcement that
hardly will the Gospel have been fully
preached to all nations (or, to all the
Jewish nation, i.e. effectually) when the
Son of Man shall come. It is most im-
portant to keep in mind the great pro*
phetic parallels which run through our
Lord's discourses, and are sometimes sepa-
rately, sometimes simultaneously, pre-
sented to us by Him.

84—48.] Thibd pabt of the dis-
couesb. See note on ver 5. It treats of (I.)
the conflicts (w. 24—26), duties (w. 26—
28), and encouragements (w. 28—32) of all
Christ's disciples. (II.) The certain issue
of this fight in victory ; the confession by
Christ of those who confess Him, set in
strong light by the contrast of those who
deny Him (vv. 32, 33); the necessity of
conflict to victory, by the nature of Christ's
mission (w. 34—37), the kind of self-
devotion which he requires (w. 37 — 39) :
concluding with the solemn assurance that
no reception of Sis messengers for Sis
sake, nor even the smallest labour of love
for Sim, shall pass without its final
reward. Thus we are carried on to the
end of time and of the course of the
Church. 24.1 This proverb is used

in different senses in Luke vi. 40 and
John xiii. 16. The view here is, that dis-
ciples must not expect a better lot than
their Master, but be well satisfied if they
have no worse. The threefold relation of
our Lord and His followers here brought
out may thus be exemplified from Scrip-
ture : disciple and teacher, Matt. v. 1;
xxiii. 8 : Luke vi. 20; servant and lord,

John xiii. 13 : Luke xii. 35 — 48 : Bom. i.
1 : 2 Pet. i. 1 : Jude 1 ; master of the
house and household, Matt. xxvi. 26—29 || :
Luke xxiv. 30 : Matt. xxiv. 46 ff. ||.
26. Beelaebub] (or-bul) (Either 'lord
of dung,' — or, as in 2 Kings i. 2, 'lord of
flies,' — a god worshipped at Ekron by the
Philistines; there is however another
derivation more probable than either of
these, from baal, lord, and zeboul, a house,
by which it would exactly correspond to
the term used.)— A name by w$ich the
prince of the devils was called by the Jews,
ch, xii. 24, — to which accusation, probably
an usual one (see ch. ix. 34), and that in
John viii. 48, our Lord probably refers.
In those places they had not literally
called Sim Beelzebub, but He speaks of
their mind and intention in those charges.
They may however have literally done so
on other unrecorded occasions. 26.]

The force of this is: 'Notwithstanding
their treatment of Me your Master, Mine
will be victory and triumph ; therefore ye,
My disciples, in your turn, need not fear.'
Compare Rom. viii. 37. for there

if nothing] This solemn truth is again
and again enounced by our Lord on
different occasions, and with different
references. See Luke viii. 17; xii. 2.
The former part of the verse drew com-
fort and encouragement from the past:
this does so from the future. * All that is
hidden must be revealed — (1) it is God's
purpose in His Kingdom that the ever-
lasting Gospel shall be freely preached, and
this purpose ye serve. (2) Beware then of
hypocrisy (see Luke xii. 8) through fear of
men, for all such will be detected and
exposed hereafter : and (3) fear them not,
for, under whatever aspersions ye may
labour from them, the day is coming which
shall clear you and condemn them, if ye
are fearlessly doing the work of Him that

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28—29.

ST. MATTHEW.

tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light : and what ye
hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. M And
*fear not them which kill the body, but are not able toy{p-^*»
kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy utu. lPet*
both soul and body in hell. 89 Are not two sparrows sold

sent yon' (ch. xiii. 48). 87.] An

expansion of the duly of freeness and
boldness of speech implied in the last
verse. The words may bear two meanings :
either (1) that which Chrysostom gives,
taking the expressions relatively, of His
speaking to them only, and in a little
corner of Palestine, as compared with the
subsequent publicity of the Word ; or (2)
as this part of the discourse relates to the
future principally, the secret speaking may
mean the communication which our Lord
would hold with them hereafter by His
Spirit, which they were to preach and pro-
claim. See Acts iv. 20. These senses do
not exclude one another, and are possibly
both implied. There is no need, with

Lightfoot and others, to suppose any allu-
sion to a custom in the synagogue, in the
words hear in the ear. They are a com-
mon expression, derived from common
life : we have it in a wider sense Acts xi.
22, and Gen. 1. 4. upon the house-

tops] On the flat roofs of the houses.
Thus we have in Josephus, " Going up on
the roof, and with his hand quieting their
tumult ... he said ... ." ».] On

the latter part of this verse much question
has of late been raised, which never was,
as far as I have been able to find, known
to the older interpreters. Stier desig-
nates it as ' the only passage of Scripture
whose words may equally apply to God
and the enemy of souls. He himself is
strongly in favour of the latter interpre-
tation, and defends it at much length;
but I am quite unable to assent to his
opinion. It seems to me at variance with
the connexion of the discourse, and with
the universal tone of Scripture regarding
Satan. If such a phrase as " to fear the
devil " could be instanced as equivalent to
" to guard against the devil" or if it could
be shewn that any where power is attributed
to Satan analogous to that indicated by
" able to destroy both soul and body in
hell," I then should be open to the doubt
whether he might not here be intended ;
but seeing that "fear not," indicating ter-
ror, is changed into "fear" so usually fol-
lowed by " God " in a higher and holier
sense (there is no such contrast in ver. 26,
and therefore that verse cannot be cited
as ruling the meaning of this), and that
God alonb is throughout the Scripture

the Almighty dispenser of life and death
both temporal and eternal, seeing also
that Satan is ever represented as the con-
demned of God, not one able to destroy, I
must hold by the general interpretation,
and believe that both here and in Luke xii.
8 — 7 our Heavenly Father is intended, as
the right object of our fear. As to this
being inconsistent with the character in
which He is brought before us in the next
verse, the very change of meaning in
"fear" would lead the mind on, out of
the terror before spoken of, into that
better kind of fear always indicated by
that expression when applied to God, and
so prepare the way for the next verse.
Besides, this sense is excellently in keep-
ing with ver. 29 in another way. ' Fear
Him who is the only Dispenser of Death
and Life : of death, as here ; of life, as in
the case of the sparrows for whom He cares/
'Fear Him, above men: trust Him, in spite
of men.' In preparing the 2nd edn. of

my Greek Test., I carefully reconsidered the
whole matter, and went over Stier's argu-
ments with the connexion of the discourse
before me, but found myself more than
ever persuaded that it is quite impossible,
for the above and every reason, to apply
the words to the enemy of souls. The
similar passage, James iv. 12, even in the
absence of other considerations, would be
decisive. Full as his Epistle is of our
Lord's words from this Gospel, it is hardly
to be doubted that in "there is one lawgiver
[and judge] who is able to save and to
destroy" he has this very verse before him.
The depth of this part of the discourse I
take to be, the setting before Christ's mes-
sengers their Heavenly Father as the sole
object of childlike trust and childlike fear
— the former from His love, — the latter
from His power, — His power to destroy, it
is not said them, but absolute, body and
soul, in hell. Here is the true depth of
the discourse : but if in the midst of this
great subject, our Lord is to be conceived
as turning aside, upholding as an object of
fear the chief enemy, whose ministers and
subordinates He is" at the very moment
commanding us not to fear, and speaking
of him as he that is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell, to my mind all truo
and deep connexion is broken.
29. sparrows] any small birds. a Cur-

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ST. MATTHEW.

X. 80—42.

x M« 1 8am.

llT. 46.

S 8am. xi?.

11. Acta

XXrfi. 84.
a Rom. x. 9, 10.

b R«t. ill. 5.

c Mark viii. 88.
x Tim. ii. 11

dLukoxil.40
If.

aMicAiTil.6.
Pb.x1I.0i
It. 18. John
xili.18.

b Lake xlr. SO.

och.xvi.24.
dJohnxli. 25.

for a farthing? and one of them snail not fall on the
ground without your Father. 3° But * the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye
are of more value than many sparrows. 3S a Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, bhim will I confess
also before my Father which is in heaven. 83 But c who-
soever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny be-
fore my Father which is in heaven, ** d Think not that I
am come to send peace oh earth : I came not to send peace,
but a sword. 85 For I am come to set a man aat variance
against his father, and the daughter against her mother,
and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 38 * And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 b He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy
of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me. 38 c And he that taketh not his cross,
and followeth v after me, is not worthy of me. 89 u He that
vfindeth his life shall lose it : and he that x loteth his life
v literally, behind. w render, hath found.

% * render, hath lost.

thing] Or. assarion. This word, de-
rived from ' as' wan used in Greek and
Hebrew to signify the meanest, most insig-
nificant amount. fell on the ground]
which birds do when struck violently, or
when frozen, wet or starved ; it is there-
fore equivalent to die: "not one 0/
them is forgotten before God," Luke
xii. 6. 30.] See 1 Sam. xiv. 45 : Luke
xxi. 18: Acts xxvii. 34. The your is
emphatic, corresponding to the ye at the
end of ver. 31. But the emphatic ye
spoken directly to the Apostles, is gene-
ralized immediately by the whosoever in
ver. 32. 32. oonfesi me] The context
shews plainly that it is a practical con-
sistent confession which is meant, and also
a practical and enduring denial. The Lord
will not confess the confessing Judas, nor
deny the denying Peter ; the traitor who
denied Him in act is denied : the Apostle
who confessed Him even to death will be
confessed. Cf. 2 Tim. ii. 12. We may
observe that both in the Sermon on the
Mount (ch. vii. 21—23) and here, after
mention of the Father, our Lord describes
Himself as the Judge and Arbiter of
eternal life and death. 34.] In Luke
xii. 51—53 this announcement, as here, is
closely connected with the mention of our
Lord's own sufferings (ver. 38). As He
won His way to victory through the con-
tradiction of sinners and strife, so must

those who come after Him. The imme-
diate reference is to the divisions in fami-
lies owing to conversions to Christianity.
Ver. 85 is quoted nearly literally from
Micah vii. 6. When we read in Com-
mentators that these divisions were not
the purpose, but the inevitable results
only, of the Lord's coming, we must
remember that with God, results are all
purposed, 37.] Compare Deut.

xxxiii. 9, and Exod. xxxii. 26 — 29, to which
passages this verse is a reference. Stier
well remarks, that under the words worthy
of mo there lies an exceeding great reward
which counterbalances all the seeming
asperity of this saying. 38.] How

strange must this prophetic announce-
ment have seemed to the Apostles! It
was no Jewish proverb (for crucifixion was
not a Jewish punishment), no common
saying, which our Lord here and so often
utters. See ch. xvi. 24: Mark x. 21:
Luke ix. 23. He does not here plainly
mention His Cross; but leaves it to be
understood, see ver. 25. This is one of
those sayingB of which John xii. 16 was
eminently true. 89. his life ... it]

refer to the same thing, but in somewhat
different senses. The first "life" is the
life of this world, which we here all count
so dear to us ; the second, implied in " it,"
the real life of man in a blessed eternity,
hath found = « loveth." John xii.

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XL 1, 2.

ST. MATTHEW.

for my sake shall find it. *° e He that receiveth you re- • &SUii *<4.
ceiveth me, and fhe that receiveth me receiveth him that f J^8T^il9:
sent me. 41 gHe that receiveth a prophet in the name of f55,*5lJfi
a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that JrKln»»iv-8
receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man
shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42bAnd whoso- bJJf<£\STix
ever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup {J; H<bTL
of cold water .only in the name of a disciple, verily I say
unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

XI. 1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an
end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence
to teach and to preach in their cities. * Now when John

26 = " will save," Mark viii. 36. The
past participles are used in anticipation,
with reference to that day when the loss
and gain shall become apparent. Bat "hath
found" and "hath lost" are again some-
what different in position : the first imply-
ing earnest desire to save, bat not so the
second any will or voluntary act to destroy.
This is brought out by the for my sake,
which gives the ruling providential ar-
rangement whereby the losing is brought
about. But besides the primary meaning
of this saying as regards the laying down
of life literally for Christ's sake, we cannot
fail to recognize in it a ftp deeper sense,
in which he who loses his life shall find
it. In Luke ix. 28, the taking up of the
cross is to be " daily ;" in ch. xvi. 24 1| Mk.
" let him deny himself" is joined with it.
Thus we have the crucifying of the life of
this world, — the death to sin spoken of
Rom. vi. 4—11, and life unto God. And
this life onto God is the real, true life,
which the self-denier shall find, and pre-
serve unto life eternal. See John xii. 26
and note. 40.] Here in the con-

clusion of the discourse, the Lord recurs
again to His Apostles whom He was send-
ing out. From ver. 82 has been connected
with whosoever, and therefore general,
receiveth, see ver. 14; but it
has here the wider sense of not only
receiving to house and board,— but re-
ceiving in heart and life the message of
which the Apostles were the bearers. On
the sense of the verse, see John xx. 21,
and on him that sent me, " I send you,"
ver. 16, and Heb. iii. 1. There is*a dif-
ference between the representation of
Christ by His messengers, which at most
is only official, and even then broken by
personal imperfection and infirmity (see
Gal. ii. 11 ; iv. 13, 14),— and the perfect
unbroken representation of the Eternal

Father by His Blessed Son, John xiv. 9 :
Heb. i. 3. 41. a prophet's reward]

either, such a reward as a prophet or a
righteous man would receive for the like
service,— or, such a reward as a prophet
or a righteous man shall receive as such.
Chrysostom. in the name of] i. e.

because he ii : i. e. ' for the love of
Christ, whose prophet he is/ The sense
is, 'He who by receiving free above) a
prophet because he is a prophet, or a holy
man because he is a holy man, recognizes,
enters into, these states as appointed by
Me, shall receive the blessedness of these
states, shall derive all the spiritual benefits
which these states bring with them, and
share their everlasting reward.'
42. these little ones] To whom this
applies is not very clear. Hardly, as some
think, to the despised and meanly-esteemed
for Christ's sake. I should rather imagine
some children may have been present : for
of such does our Lord elsewhere use this
term, see ch. xviii. 2— 6. Though perhaps
the expression may be meant of lower and
less advanced converts, thus keeping up
the gradation from the prophet. This
however hardly seems likely : for how
could a disciple be in a downward grada-
tion from a righteous manf his
(i. e. the doer's) reward : not, ' the reward
of one of these little ones,' as before a
prophets reward, a righteous man's re-
ward. XI. 1. thence] No fixed lo-
cality is assigned to the foregoing dis-
course. It was not delivered at Caper-
naum, but on a journey t see ch. ix. 86.
their cities is also indeterminate, as
in ch. iv. 23 ; ix. 86.

2—80.] Message op enquiby from
the Baptist: otjb Lobd's answbb,
and discourse thbbeox to the mul-
TITUDE. Luke vii. 18-36. There have
beeu several different opinions as to the

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ST. MATTHEW.

XI.

ach.xiT.8. had heard ain the prison the works of Christ, he sent 7 two

7 read, by means of.
reason why this enquiry was made.

I will
state them, and append to them my own
view. (1) It has Deen a very generally
received idea that the question was asked
for ihe sake of the disciples themselves,
with the sanction of their master, and for
the purpose of confronting them, who
were doubtful and jealous of our Lord,
with the testimony of His own mouth.
This view is ably maintained by Chrysos-
tom, and has found strenuous defenders in
our own day. The objections to it are, —
that the text evidently treats the question
as coming from John himself; the answer
is directed to John ; and the following dis-
course is on the character and position of
John. These are answered by some with
a supposition that John allowed the en-
quiry to be made in his name ; but surely
our Saviour would not in this case have
made the answer as we have it, which
clearly implies that the object of the
miracles done was John's satisfaction.
(2) The other great section of opinions on
the question is that which supposes doubt
to have existed, for some reason or other,
in the Baptist's own mind. This is upheld
by Tertullian and others, and advocated
by De Wette, who thinks that the doubt
was perhaps respecting not our Lord's
mission, but His way of manifesting Him-
self, which did not agree with the theo-
cratic views of the Baptist. This he con-
siders to be confirmed by ver. 6. Olshausen
and Neander suppose the ground of the
doubt to have lain partly in the Mes-
sianic idea of the Baptist, partly in the
weakening and bedimming effect of impri-
sonment on John's mind. Lightfoot car-
ries this latter still further, and imagines
that the doubt arose from dissatisfaction
at not being liberated from prison by some
miracle of our Lord. Others have sup-
posed that John, perplexed by the various
reports about the worker of these miracles,
sent his disciples to ascertain whether it
was really He who had been borne witness
to by himself. (8) It appears to me that
there are objections against each of the
above suppositions, too weighty to allow
either of them to be entertained. There
can be little doubt on the one hand, that
our Saviour's answer is directed to John,
and not to the disciples, who are bona fide
messengers and nothing more : — " Go and
shew John " can I think bear no other in-
terpretation: and again the words " blessed
is he, whosoever shall not be offended in
me" must equally apply to John in the
first place, so that, in some sense, he had

been offended at Christ. On the other
hand, it is exceedingly difficult to suppose
that there can have been in John's own
mind any real doubt that our Lord was
He that should come, seeing that he him-
self had borne repeatedly such notable
witness to Him, and that under special
divine direction and manifestation (see eh.
iii. 16, 17 : John L 26—37). The

idea of his objective faith being shaken by
his imprisonment is quite inconsistent not
only with John's character, but with our
Lord's discourse in this place, whose de-
scription of him seems almost framed to
guard against such a supposition.
The last hypothesis above mentioned is
hardly probable, in the form in which it is
put. We can scarcely imagine that John
can have doubted who this Person was, or
have been confounded by the discordant
rumours which reached him about His
wonderful works. But that one form of
this hypothesis is the right one, I am cer-
tainly disposed to believe, until some more
convincing considerations shall induce me
to alter my view. (4) The form to which
I allude is this: John having heard all
these reports, being himself fully con-
vinced Who this Wonderworker was, was
becoming impatient under the slow and
unostentatious course of our Lord's self-
manifestation, and desired to obtain from
our Lord's own mouth a declaration which
should set such rumours at rest, and (pos-
sibly) which might serve for a public
profession of His Messiahship, from which
hitherto He had seemed to shrink. He
thus incurs a share of the same rebuke
which the mother of our Lord received
(John ii. 4) ; and the purport of the an-
swer returned to him is, that the hour
was not yet come for such an open de-
claration, but that there were sufficient
proofii given by the works done, to render
all inexcusable, who should be offended in
Him.. And the return message is so far
from being a satisfaction designed for the
disciples, that they are sent back like the
messenger from Gabii to Sextus Tarqui-
nius, with indeed a significant narrative
to relate, but no direct answer; they were
but the intermediate transmitters of the
symbolic message, known to Him who sent
it, and him who received it. It is

a fact not to be neglected in connexion
with this solution of the difficulty, that
John is said to have heard of the works,
not of Jesus, but of (the) Christ: the
only place where that name, standing
alone, is given to our Lord in this Gospel.

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8—7.

ST. MATTHEW.

of his disciples, 8 and said unto him, Art thou b he that
should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus an-
swered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those
things which ye do hear and see : B the c blind receive
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and d the poor ■ have
the gospel preached to them : fi and blessed is he, whoso-
ever shall not e be offended in me.

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the
multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the
wilderness to *see? fa reed shaken* with the wind?

1 literally, are evangelized.

a render, gaze upon, (the word in w. 8, 9, is different.)

b Gen. xMx. 10.
Nam. xxlv.
17. Dftn.lz.
U. John ri.
14.

elea.xxix. 18:
xxxv. 4, ft, fl:
xlll.7. John
11. 88: Hi. It
T.tt: X.3S,
SB: xiv.ll.

d Im. lxi. 1.
Lake 1?. 18.
James U.S.

e In. Till. 14.
U. eh. xlil.
67: xxIt.IOi
xxvi.81.
Rom. lx. 82.
88. ICor.l.
t8> ii.14.
Oml. t. U.
lPet.ii.8.

f Eph. It. 14.

So that it would seem as if the Evangelist
had purposely avoided saying of Jesus,
to shew that the works were reported to
John not as those of the Person whom he
had known as Jesus, but of the Deliverer
— the Christ; and that he was thns led
to desire a distinct avowal of the identity
of the two. I have before said that the
opening part of the ensuing discourse seems
to have been designed to prevent, in the
minds of the multitude, any such un-
worthy estimations of John as those above
cited. The message and the answer
might well beget such suspicions, amd
could not from the nature of the case be
explained to them in that deeper meaning
which they really bore ; but the character
of John here given would effectually pre-
vent them, after hearing it, from enter-
taining any such idea. 3. had
heard! From his own disciple*, Luke vii.
18. The place of his imprisonment was
Machssrus, a frontier town between the
dominions of Aretes and Herod Antipas.
Our Lord in that hour wrought many
cures, Luke ver. 21. Verses 4 — 6 are nearly
verbatim in the two Gospels. 0.] The
words the dead are railed up have occa-
sioned some difficulty ; but surely Without
reason. In Luke, the raising of the
widow's son at Nain immediately precedes
this message ; and in this Gospel we have
had the ruler's daughter raised. These
miracles might be referred to by our Lord
under the words the dead are raised
up ; for it is to be observed that He bade
them tell John not only what things they
saw, but what things they had heard, as
in Luke. It must not be forgotten
that the words here used by our Lord
have an inner and spiritual sense, as
betokening the blessings and miracles of
divine grace on the souls of men, of

which His outward and visible miracles
were symbolical. The words are mostly
cited from Isa. xxxv. 6, where the same
spiritual meaning is conveyed by them.
They arc quoted here, as the words of Isa.
liii. are by the Evangelist in ch. viii. 17,
as applicable to their partial external ful-
filment, which however, like themselves,
pointed onward to their greater spiritual
completion. the poor have the

gospel preached to them (are evange-
lised)] Stier remarks the coupling of these
miracles together, and observes that with
the dead are raised, this is united, as being
a thing hitherto unheard of and strange,
and an especial fulfilment of Isa. lxi. 1.
6.] See note on ver. 2. offended

in] scandalized at, take offence at.
7—80.] The discourse divides itself into
two pabts : (1) w. 7—19, the respective
characters and mutual relations of John
and Christ: (2) vv. 20-80, the condem-
nation of the unbelief of the time — ending
with the gracious invitation to all the
weary and heavy laden to come to Him,
as truly He that should come.
7.] The following verses set forth to the
people the real character and position of
John; identifying him who cried in the
wilderness with him who now spoke from
his prison, and assuring them that there
was the same dignity of office and mission
throughout. They are not spoken till
after the departure of the disciples of
John, probably because they were not
meant for them or John to near, but for
the people, who on account of the question
which they had heard might go away with
a mistaken depreciation of John. And our
Lord, as usual, takes occasion, from re-
minding them of the impression made on
them by John's preaching of repentance,
to set forth to them deep truths regarding

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ST. MATTHEW.

XI.

8 But what went ye out for to see ? a man clothed in soft

raiment ? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings*

houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see ? a prophet ?

g2i.«[Lukegyea> I say un*° y°u* and more than a prophet. 10 For

h iffl:. hi. i. this is he, of whom it is written, h Behold, I send my mes-

Mark I. J.

Luke LW. senger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before
thee. u Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born
of women there hath not risen a greater than John the
Baptist : notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom

His own Kingdom and Office.
8. But] i.e. what wn it, if it was not
that? what went ye ont] The

repetition of this question, and the order
of the suggestive answers, are remarkable.
The first sets before them the scene of
their desert pilgrimage — the banks of Jor-
dan with its reeds, but no such trifles
were the object of the journey : this sug-
gestion is rejected without an answer.
The second reminds them that it was a
man — but not one in soft clothing, for
such are not found in deserts. The third
brings before them the real object of their
pilgrimage in his holy office, and even
amplifies that office itself. So that the
great Forerunner is made to rise gradually
and sublimely into his personality, and
thus his preaching of repentance is revived
in their minds. in soft raiment]

Contrast this with the garb of John as
described ch. iii. 4. Such an one, in soft
raiment, might be the forerunner of a
proud earthly prince, but not the preacher
of repentance before a humble and suffer-
ing Saviour ; might be found as the courtly
flatterer in the palaces of kings, but not
as the stern rebuker of tyrants, and
languishing in their fortress dungeons.
9.] We read, ch. xxi. 26, that
'all accounted John as a prophet.' —
John was more than a prophet, because
he did not write of, but saw and painted
out, the object of his prophecy j — and be-
cause of his proximity to the kingdom of
God. He was moreover more than a pro-
phet, because he himself was the subject
as well as the vehicle of prophecy. But
with deep humility he applies to himself
only that one, of two such prophetic pas-
sages, which describes him as a voice of
one crying, and omits the one which gives
him the title of my messenger, here cited
by our Lord. 10. thy] Our Lord here

changes the person of the original pro-
phecy, which is my. And that He does
so, making that which is said by Jehovah
of Himself, to be addressed to the Mes-
siah, is, if such were needed (compare also

Luke i. 16, 17, and 76), no mean indica-
tion of His own eternal and co-equal God-
head. It is worthy of remark that all
three Evangelists quote this prophecy
similarly changed, although St. Mark has
it in an entirely different place. Also,
that the high dignity and honour, which
our Lord here predicates of the Baptist,
has a further reference: He was thus
great above all others, because he was the
forerunner of Christ. How great then
above all others and him, must HE be.
11. hath . . . risen] Not merely a
word of course, but especially used of pro-
phets and judges, see reff., and once of oar
Saviour Himself, Acts v. 80. he

that if least] This has been variously ren-
dered and understood. Chrysostom and
Other ancient interpreters, put the pause
after " least," and take the words " in the
Kingdom of heaven" with what follows :
understanding " he that is least " of onr
Lord. But such an interpretation is
surely adverse to the spirit of the whole
discourse. We may certainly say that our
Lord in such a passage as this would not
designate Himself as " he that is least **
compared with John, in any sense: nor
again is it our Lord's practice to speak of
Himself as one in the Kingdom of heaven,
or of His own attributes as belonging to
or dependent on that new order of things
which this expression implies, and which
was in Him rather than He in it. Again,
the analogy of such passages as Matt. v.
19 ; xviii. 1, would lead us to connect the
preceding adjective least with in the King-
dom of heaven, and not the following.
The other, the usual interpretation, I
am convinced, is the right one: but he
that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is
greater than ho. There is very likely

an allusion to Zech. xii. 8 : "He that is
feeble among them at that day shall be as
David." Thus the parallelism is com-

plete: John, not inferior to any born of
women— but these, even the least of them,
are born of another birth (John L 12, 13;
iii. 5). John, the nearest to the King and

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8-15.

ST. MATTHEW.

of heaven is greater than he. 1S * And from the days of 1Lokex?i-w-
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all thekMallvB
prophets and the law prophesied until John : 14» and if ye tiStit:

will receive it, this is k Elias, which D was for to come. L&jijLi.

y * 4 Rev. II. 7. 11.

17. 89 « 111.0,
18, M.

15 l He that hath ears [° to hear], let him hear.

* render, shall CO me.

c omitted in tome of the best MSS.

the Kingdom — standing on the threshold
— but never having himself entered; these,
"in the Kingdom," subjects and citizens
and indweilers of the realm, whose citizen-
ship is in heaven. He, the friend of the*
Bridegroom: they, however weak and
unworthy members, His Body, and His
Spouse. 12.] The sense of this

verse has been much disputed. (1) the
verb rendered " suffereth violence " has
been taken in a middle sense; 'forcibly
introduces itself, breaks in with violence,'
as in the similar passage Luke xvi. 16.
Certainly such a sense agrees better with
" is. preached" which we find in Luke,
than the passive explanation : but it seems
inconsistent with the latter half of the
verse to say that it breaks in by force, and
then that others break by force into it.
(2) the verb is taken passively ; ' suffereth
violence/ And thus the construction of
the verse is consistent : ' and the violent
take it by force.' Believing this latter
interpretation to be right, we now come
to the question, in what sense are these
words spoken ? Is the verb in it good or
a bad sense ? Does it mean, ' is taken by
force,' and the following, ' and men vio-
lently press in for their share of it, as
for plunder ;'— or does it mean, 'is vio-
lently resisted, and violent men tear it to
pieces?' (viz. its opponents, the Scribes
and Pharisees?) This latter meaning
bears no sense as connected with the dis-
course before us. The subject is not the
resistance made to the kingdom of heaven,
but the difference between a prophesied
and a present kingdom of heaven. The
fifteenth verse closes this subject, and the
complaints of the arbitrary prejudices
of * this generation ' begin with ver. 16.
We conclude then that these words imply
From the days of John the Baptist untu
now (i. e. inclusively, from the beginning
of his preaching), the kingdom of heaven
if pressed into, and violent persons-
eager, ardent multitudes — seise on it
Of the truth of this, notwithstanding our
Lord's subsequent reproaches for unbelief,
we have abundant proof from the multi-
tudes who followed, and outwent Him,

and thronged the doors where He was,
and would (John vi. 15) take Him by
force to make Him a king. But our Lord
does not mention this so much to com-
mend the violent persons, as to shew the
undoubted fact that He that should come
was come : — that the kingdom of heaven,
which before had been the subject of dis-
tant prophecy, a closed fortress, a treasure
bid, was now undoubtedly upon earth
(Luke xvii. 21 and note), laid open to the
entrance of men, spread out that all might
take. Thus this verse connects with ver.
28, " Come unto Me all," and with Luke
xvi. 16, "every man presseth into it."
Compare also with this throwing open of
the kingdom of heaven for all to press
into, the stern prohibition in Exod. xix.
12, 18, and the comment on it in Heb.
xii. 18—24. 13, 14.] The whole body

of testimony as yet has been prophetic,-*
the Law and Prophets, from the first till
Zacharias the priest and Simeon and
Anna prophesied; and according to the
declaration of prophecy itself, John, in
the spirit and power of Elias, was the
forerunner of the great subject of all pro-
phecy. Neither this— nor the testimony
of our Lord, ch. xvii. 12— is inconsistent
with John's own denial that he was Elias,
John i. 21. For (1) that question was
evidently asked as implying a re-appear-
ance of the actual Elias upon earth : and
(2) our Lord cannot be understood in
either of these passages as meaning that
the prophecy of Malachi iv. 5 received its
full completion in John. For as in other
prophecies, so in this, we have a partial
fulfilment both of the coming of the Lord
and of His forerunner, while the great
and complete fulfilment is yet future —
at the great day of the Lord. Mai. iv. 1.
The words here are not " which was for
to come" but are strictly future, who
shall come. Compare ch. xvii. 11, where
the future is used. The if ye will (are
willing to) receive it must be taken as
referring to the partial sense of the ful-
filment implied : for it was (and is to this
day) the belief of the Jews that Elias in
person should come before the end.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

XI.

m ch. ix. 10.
Luke x?. 1 f.

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation ? it is
like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto
their fellows, x? and saying, We have piped unto you, and
ye have not danced; we have mourned [d unto you\ , and
ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating
nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The son
of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold
a man gluttonous, and a winebihber, m a friend of publi-
cans and sinners. But wisdom • w justified of her f chil-
dren.

A omitted in some of the beet MSS. e render, Was.

' some of our earliest MSS. read, for children, works.

15.] These words are generally used by
our Lord when there is a further and
deeper meaning in His words than is ex-
pressed : as here — ' if John the Baptist is
Elias, and Elias is the forerunner of the
coming of the Lord, then know surely
that the Lord is come.' 16. But]

Implying ' the men of this generation have
ears, and hear not ; will not receive this
saying: are arbitrary, childish, and pre-
judiced, not knowing their own mind.'
whereunto shall I liken] See similar
questions in Mark iv. 80: Luke xiii. 18,
20; and note on ch. vii. 24. like unto

children ; as children in their games imi-
tate the business and realities of life, so
these in the great realities now before
them shew all the waywardness of children.
The similitude is to two bodies of children,
the one inviting the other to play, first at
the imitation of a wedding, secondly at
that of a funeral; — to neither of which
will the others respond. Stier remarks
that the great condescension of the preach-
ing of the Gospel is shewn forth in this
parable, where the man sent from God,
and the eternal Word Himself, are repre-
sented as children among children, speak-
ing the language of their sports. Com-
pare Heb. ii. 14. It must not be sup-
posed that the two bodies of children are
two divisions of the Jews, as some (e. g.
Olsh.) have done: the children who call
are the Jews, — those called to, the two
Preachers ; both belonging, according to
the flesh, to this generation,— but neither
of them corresponding to the kind of
mourning (in John's case) with which the
Jews would have them mourn, or the kind
of joy (in the Lord's case) with which
the Jews would have them rejoice. The
converse application, which is commonly
made, is against the is like unto children,
by which the first children must be the
children of this generations and nothing

can be more perplexed than to understand
is like unto as meaning 'may he illus-
trated by,' and invert the persons in the
parable. Besides which, this interpreta-
tion would lay the waywardness to the
charge of the Preachers, not to that of
the Jews. 18. neither eating nor

drinking] Luke vii. S3 fills up this ex-
pression by inserting bread and wine. . See
ch. Hi. 4. The neglect of John's preach-
ing, and rejection of his message, is im-
plied in several places of the Gospels (see
ch. xxi. 23—27 : John v. 35) ; but hence
only do we learn that they brought against
him the same charge which they after-
wards tried against our Lord. See John
vii. 20; x. 20. 19.] Alluding to

our Lord's practice of frequenting en-
tertainments and feasts, e. g. the mar-
riage at Cana, the feast in Levi's house,
&c. See also ch. ix. 14. But] lite-

rally, and: i. e. and yet; see John xvi. 82.
wisdom] the divine wisdom which
hath ordered these things. was justi-

fied— the same tense as " came" both times
— refers to the event, q. d., 'they were
events in which wisdom was justified, Ac.'
The force of the past tense is not to be
lost by giving * present meaning to either
of the verbs. The meaning seems to be,
that the waywardness above described was
not universal, but that the children of
wisdom (in allusion probably to the Book
of Proverbs, which constantly uses similar
expressions: see ch. ii. 1; iii. 1, 11, 21;
iv. 1, &c.) were led to receive and justify
(== clear of imputation) the Wisdom of
God, who did these things. Cf. Luke vii.
29, where in this same narrative it is said,
the publicans justified God. The children
of wisdom are opposed to the wayward
children above, the chWdlike to the child-
ish; and thus this verse serves as an intro-
duction to the saying in ver. 25. of,
not exactly equivalent to ' by,' but imply -

Digitized by VjOOQIC

16—23.

ST. MATTHEW.

20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most
of his mighty works were done, because they repented not :
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida !
for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago nin sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, °It»J»«*iH.7.
shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of oobx "'
judgment, than for you. *• And thou, Capernaum, » * which » g? JE£%
art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to ^hell: for 1#
if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had
been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this

8 the best MSS. read, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven ? thou shalt
be brought. * in the original, Hades.

1.11

ing ' at the hands of9 the person whence the
justification comes. 20 — 80.] Second
past op the DI800UB8B. See on ver. 7.
20. Then began he] This expres-
sion betokens a change of subject, bnt
not of locality or time. The whole chapter
stands in such close connexion, one part
arising out of another (e. g. this out of
ver. 16 — 19), and aU pervaded by the same
great undertone, which sounds forth in
vv. 28—80, that it is quite impossible
tliat this should be a collection of our
Lord's sayings, uttered at different times.
I would rather regard the then began he
as a token of the report of an ear- witness,
and as pointing to a pause or change of
manner on the part of our Lord. See
note on Luke x. 18. because they

repented not] Connect this with the first
subject of our Lord's preaching, ch. iv. 17.
The reference is to some unrecorded mira-
cles, of which we know (Luke iv. 28 s
John xxi. 25) that there were many.
£1. Ghorasin] According to Jerome, a
town of Galilee, two (according to Euse*
bius twelve, but most likely an error in
the transcriber) miles from Capernaum.
It is nowhere mentioned except here and
in the similar place of Luke. Beth-

saida] Called a city, John i. 46,— a village
(literally), Markviii. 28,— in Galilee, John
xii. 21 : — on the western bank of the lake
of Gennesaret, near the middle, not far
from Capernaum ; the birth-place of Simon
Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Both this and
Chorazin appear to be put as examples of
the lesser towns in which our Lord had
wrought his miracles (the towns, literally,
village-towns, of Mark i. 88), as distin-
guished from Capernaum, the chief town
(ver. 23) of the neighbourhood. Tyre

and Sidon] These wealthy cities, so often the
Vol. I.

subject of prophecy, had been chastised by
God's judgment under Nebuchadnezzar
and Alexander, but still existed (Acts xii.
20; xxi. 8, 7; xxvii.8). repented ... in
sackcloth and ashes is probably an allu-
sion to Jonah iii. 6, or to general Eastern
custom. 28.] The sense has been

variously interpreted. Some suppose it to
allude to the distinguished honour con-
ferred on Capernaum by our Lord's resi-
dence there. Others to the rich fisheries
carried on at Capernaum* by means of
which the town was proud and prosperous.
Others refer the expression to the lofty
situation of Capernaum, which however is
very uncertain. The first interpretation
appears to me the most probable, seeing
that our Lord chose that place to be the
principal scene of His ministry and resi-
dence, " his own city," ch. ix. 1. The very
sites of these three places are now matter
of dispute among travellers. See Robin-
son, vol. iii. pp. 288—800. Dr. Thom-
son, " The Land and the Book/' p. 859,
was sure he found Chorazin in the ruins
bearing the name Khorazy, Wing in a side
valley of the Wady Nashif; which runs
down to the lake on the East of Tell Hum
(Capernaum). And this, in spite of Dr.
Kobinson's rejection of the identification,
in Sodom] The comparison between
sinful Israel and Sodom is common in the
O. T. See Deut. xxxii. 82: Isa, i. 10:
Lam. iv. 6 : Ezek. xvi, 46—67. it

would have remained] This declaration of
the Lord of all events, opens to us an
important truth, that the destruction of
Sodom was brought about, not by a neces-
sity in the divine purposes — still less by a
connexion of natural causes — but by the
iniquity of its inhabitants, who, had they
turned and repented, might have avert©*1

a - -

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ST. MATTHEW.

XI.

day. ** But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for
thee.

26 * At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because 'thou hast
ftS.'iiLw. hid these things from the wise and prudent, •and hast re-
" vealed them unto babes. 2fi Even so, Father : for so it
mSuIV?" seemed good in thy sight. *7 * All things * ate delivered
coT™. unto me i of my Father : and no man knoweth the Son,

* render, were. J «. e. by.

q Luke s. 11.

r Me Pi. Till.
«. ICor. "

xilL S> rril.

S. t

their doom. The same is strikingly set
before us in the history of Jonah's preach-
ing at Nineveh. 34, and 28.] These
verses are connected with those respectively
preceding them thus : — 'If these mighty
works had been done in Tyre and Sidon —
in Sodom — they would have, &c.j, but,
since no such opportunity was afforded
them, and ye, Bethsaida, Chorazin, and
Capernaum, have had and rejected such,
it shall be move tolerable, Ac.' And as to
the Baying of our Lord, ' If more warnings
had been given they wonld have repented,'
—it is not for the infidel to say, 'Why
then were not more given?' because
every act of Qod for the rescue of a sinner
from his doom is purely and entirely of
free and undeserved grace, and the pro-
portion of such means of escape dealt out
to men is ruled by the counsel of His will
who is holy, just, and true, and willeth not
the death of the sinner ; but whose ways
are past our finding out. We know enough
when we know that all are inexcusable,
having (see Rom. i. ii.) the witness of Qod
in their consciences ; and our only feeling
should be overflowing thankfulness, when
we find ourselves in possession of the light
of the glorious Gospel, of which so many
are deprived. That the reference here
is to the last great dap of judgment is evi-
dent, by the whole being spoken of in the
future. Had our Lord been speaking of
the outward judgment on the rebellious
cities, the future might have been used of
them, but could not of Sodom, which was
already destroyed. This shall be more
tolerable is one of those mysterious hints
at the future dealings of God, into which
we can penetrate no further than the
actual words of our Lord reveal, nor say
to what difference exactly they point in
the relative states of those who are com-
pared. Bee also Luke xii. 47, 48.
26.] This is certainly a continuation of
the foregoing discourse; and the an-
swered, which seems to have nothing to

refer to, does in reality refer to the words
which have immediately preceded. The
at that time is not chronological, but
gives additional solemnity to what follows.
There may have been a slight break in
the discourse ; the older interpreters, and
others, insert the return of the Apostles :
but I do not see any necessity for it. The
whole ascription of praise is an antwer :
an answer to the mysterious dispensations
of God's Providence above recounted.
With regard to the arrangement in Luke,
see note on Luke x. 21. I thank thee]
Not merely, * I praise Thee,' but in the
force of the Greek word, I confess to Thee,
' I recognize the justice of Thy doings ;'
vis. in the words Eren ao, Father, Ac.
Stier remarks that this is the first public
mention by our Lord of His Father ; the
words in ch. x. 82, 83 having been ad*
dressed to the twelve (but see John ii. 16).
We have two more instances of such a
public address to His Father, John xi. 41 ;
xii. 28 ; and again Luke xxiii. 34. It is
to be observed that He does not address
the Father as Sis Lord, but as Lord of
heaven and earth : as He who worheth all
things after the counsel of His will, Eph.

i. 11. haat hid hast revealed]

more properly, didst hide, and didst re-
Teal, in the deeper and spiritual sense of
the words; the time pointed at being
that in the far past, when the divine
decrees as to snch hiding and revealing
were purposed. See 1 Cor. ii. 9 — 12.
these things, these mysterious arrange-
ments, by which the sinner is condemned
in his pride and unbelief, the humble and
childlike saved, and God justified when He
saves and condemns. These are 'revealed'
to those who can in a simple and teachable
spirit, as babes, obey the invitation in vv.
28—30, but 'hidden' from the wise and
clever of this world, who attempt their
solution by the inadequate instrumentality
of the mere human understanding. See
1 Cor. i. 26—81. 87.] In one other

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24r— SO.

ST. MATTHEW.

but the Father; "neither knoweth any man the Father, «Jf» J- "^
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son k will reveal
him.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, v and ri

r John xlU. 16.

learn of me ; for I am meek and w lowly in heart : * and f SAm.
ye shall find rest unto your souls. SA • ^:r ~~ t:1:: ~z l~ °- B *"

x Jam. Ti. 16.

y 1 John v. 8.

SO y j?ot my yoke is wzech.ix.»."

Phfl.il. 7, 8.

easy, and my burden is light.

k *. e . is minded to.

place only in the three first Gospels (be-
sides the similar passage, Luke x. 22) does
the expression the Son occur ; viz. Mark xiii.
32. The spirit of this verse, and its form
of expression, are quite those of the Gospel
of John ; and it serves to form a link of
union between the three synoptic Gospels
and the fourth, and to point to the vast
and weighty mass of discourses of the
Lord which are not related except by
John. We may also observe another point
of union: — this very truth (John iii. 85)
had been part of toe testimony borne to
Jesus by the Baptist — and its repetition
here, in a discourse of which the character
and office of the Baptist is the suggestive
groundwork, is a coincidence not surely
without meaning. The verse itself is in
the closest connexion with the preceding
and following, and is best to be understood
in that connexion: all things ware de-
livered to me answers to " thou hast re-
vealed" in ver. 25 (on the tenses, see note
above, ver. 25), only " revealed " could not
be used of the Eternal Son, for He is
Himself the EeveaJer;— no man (no one)
knoweth the Son . . . ., none but the

Almighty Father has full entire possession
of the mystery of the Person and Office of
the Son: it is a depth hidden from all
being but His, Whose Purposes are evolved
in and by it : neither ... the Father . . .
nor does any fully apprehend, in the depths
at his* being, the love and grace of the
Father, except the Son, and he to whom
the Son, by the Eternal Spirit, proceeding
from the Father and the Son, will reveal
Him. Then in close connexion with the
to whomsoever the Bon will, which by
itself might seem to bring in an arbitrari-
ness into the divine counsel, follows, by
the Eternal Son Himself, the Come unto
me, all . . ., the wonderful and merciful
generalization of the call to wisdom unto
salvation. 28.] This is the great

and final answer to the question, Art thou
Me that should come, or do we look for
another ? As before, we may observe the
closest connexion between this and the

preceding. As the Son is the great Be-
vealer, and as the to whomsoever He will
is by His grace extended to all the weary
— all who feel their need— so He here wi-
vites them to receive this revelation, learn
of Me. But the way to this heavenly
wisdom is by quietness and confidence,
rest unto the soul, the reception of the
divine grace for the pardon or sin, and the
breaking of the yoke of the corruption of
our nature. No mere man could have

spoken these words. They are parallel
with the command in Isa. xlv. 22, which
is spoken by Jehovah Himself. labour
and are heavy laden] the active and passive
sides of human misery, the labouring and
the burdened, are invited. Doubtless, out-
ward and bodily misery is not shut out ;
but the promise, rest to your souls, is
only a spiritual promise. Our Lord does
not promise to those who come to Him
freedom from toil or burden, but rest in
the soul, which shall make all yokes easy,
and all burdens light. The main invita-
tion however is to those burdened with
the yoke of sin, and of the law, which was
added because of sin. All who feel that
burden are invited. 28.] learn of

Me, both 'from My example,' which how-
ever is the lower sense of the words, and
'from My teaching,' from which alone the
rest can flow ; the revelation of vv. 25 and
27. ye shall find rest unto your souls
is quoted from Jer. vi. 16 Heb. Thus we
have it revealed here, that the rest and
joy of the Christian soul is, to become like
Christ: to attain by His teaching this
meekness and lowliness of His. Olshau-
sen makes an excellent distinction between
lowly in heart, an attribute of divine Love
in the Saviour, and lowly, or poor, in
spirit, ch. v. 3 : Prov. xxix. 28, which can
only be said of sinful man, knowing his
unworthiness and need of help. heart

is only here used of Christ. 30.]

easy, * not exacting/ answering to ' kind,'
spoken of persons, Luke vi. 35. See 1 John
v. 3. Owing to the conflict with evil ever
incident to our corrupt nature even under
2

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ST. MATTHEW.

xn.

»i»at.xxiu. xil. l At that time a Jesus went on the sabbath day
through the corn ; and his disciples were an hungred, and
began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. s But when
the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy dis-
ciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath
ifem.xxi.6. day. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read bwhat
David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were
with him ; * how he entered into the house of God, and l did
cgjf^;feat cthe shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat,
j«g.«d£ neither for them which were with him, dbut only for the
jj$i.si!xxiv. priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the elaw, how that on
•/"jihnvii. the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the
sabbath, and are blameless ? 6 But I say unto you, That
is. iu.iiL in this place is fmo?ie greater than the temple. 7 But if ye

1 our two earliest MSS. read, they did eat.
m read, that which is greater.

grace, the rest which Christ gives is yet
to be viewed as a yoke and a burden, seen
on this its painful side, of conflict and
sorrow : but it is a light yoke ; the inner
rest in the bouI giving a peace which
passeth understanding, and bearing it up
against all. See 2 Cor. iv. 16.
XII. 1—8.] The disciples pluck bass

OF COBN ON THE SABBATH. OlTB LORD'S
AN8WBB TO THE PhABISEBB THBBEON.

Mark ii. 28—28 : Luke vi. 1-5. In Mark
and Luke this incident occurs after the
discourse on fasting related Matt. ix. 14
sq. ; bat in the former without any definite
mark of time. The expression at that time
is, I conceive, a more definite mark of con-
nexion than we find in the other Gospels,
but cannot here be fixed to the meaning
which it clearly has in ch. xi. 25, where
the context determines it. We can merely
say that it seems to have occurred about
the same time as the last thing mentioned
— in the same journey or season. The

plucking the ears was allowed Dent, xxiii.
25, but in the Talmud expressly forbidden
on the Sabbath. It was also (Levit. xxiii.
14s apparently, but this is by no means
certain : see note on Luke) forbidden until
the sheaf of first-fruits had been presented
to God, which was done on the second day
of the feast of unleavened bread at the
Passover. This incident, on that supposi-
tion, must have occurred between that day
and the harvest. It is generally supposed
to have been on the first Sabbath after
the Passover. For a fuller discussion of
the time and place, see note on Luke as
before. 8.1 It appears from 1 Sam.

xxi. 6, that hot bread bad been put in on

the day of David's arrival ; which there-
fore, Levit. xxiv. 8, was a sabbath. The
example was thus doubly appropriate.
Bengel maintains, on the commonly re-
ceived interpretation of Luke vi. 1, that
1 Sam. xxi. was the lesson for the day.
But the Jewish calendar of lessons cannot
be shewn to have existed in. the form
which we now have, in the time of the
Gospel history. 0.] The priests were

ordered to offer double offerings on the
Sabbath (Num. xxviii. 9, 10), and to place
fresh (hot, and therefore baked that day)
shewbread. In performing these com-
mands they must commit many of what
the Pharisees would call profanations of
the Sabbath. So that, as Stier (ii. 4),
not only does the sacred history famish
examples of exception to the law of the
Sabbath from necessity, but the Law itself
ordains work to be done on the Sabbath
as a duty. 6.] The Greek has merely

greater, and the best MSS. have it%in the
neuter gender, which sustains the parallel
better : a greater thing than the temple
it here. See John ii. 19. The inference
is, *If the priests1 in the temple and for
the temple's sake, for its service and ritual,
profane the Sabbath, as ye account pro-
fanation, and, are blameless, how much
more these disciples who have grown
hungry in their appointed following of
Him who is greater than the temple, the
true Temple of God on earth, the Son
of Man ! ' I cannot agree with Stier that
the neuter would represent only "some-
thing greater, more weighty than the
temple, — namely, merciful consideration of
the hungry, or the like :" it seems to me,

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1—13.

ST. MATTHEW.

had known what this meaneth, *I will have mercy, an<l*5i?Vui*7*'
not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. t-ohixM-
8 For the Son of man is Lord [n even] of the sabbath day.

9 And when he was departed thence, he went into
their synagogue : 10 and, behold, [° there was] a man
which had his hand P withered. And they asked him,
saying, hIs it lawful to heal on the sabbath days ? h JsJj^S-JJ;
that they might accuse him. n And he said unto them, lx'1*'
What man * shall there be among you, that shall have
one sheep, and * if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, ,Tg,5fJ^
will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? ™ How R*""-*-
much then is a man better than a sheep I Wherefore
it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then
saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he
stretched it forth ; and it was restored whole, like as the

n omit.

P literally, dry.

at above, to bear a more general and sub-
lime sense than the masculine ; see ver. 41,
Ac. 7.] The law of this new Temple-

service is the law of charity and love : —
mercy and not sacrifice, see ch. ix. 18;-—
all for man's sake and man's good ; — and
if their hearts had been ready to receive
our Lord, and to take on them this ser-
vice, they would not have condemned the
guiltless, ft.] On the important verse

preceding this in Mark ii. 27, see note
there. The sense of it must here be sup-
plied to complete the inference. Since the
Sabbath was an ordinance instituted for
the use and benefit of man, — the Son of
Man, who has taken upon Him full and
complete Manhood, the great representa-
tive and Head of humanity, has this in-
stitution under his own power. See this
teaching of the Lord illustrated and ex-
panded in apostolic practice and injunc-
tions, Bom. xiv. 4, 5, 17 : CoL ii. 16, 17.

9—1C] Hbaliho of the wtthebed
hajtd. Mark iii. 1—6: Luke vi. 6—11.
0. when he was departed thence]
This change of place is believed by Gres-
well to have been a journey back to Galilee
after the Passover. (Diss. viii. vol. ii.) It
is true that no such change is implied in
Mark and Luke ; but the words here
point to a journey undertaken, as in ch.
xi. 1 ; xv. 29, the only other places in this
Gospel where the expression occurs. In
John vii. 8, the cognate expression, " De-
part hence," is used of a journey from
Galilee to Judaea. So that certainly it is
not implied here (as Meyer, al., suppose)
that the incident took placo on the same

* omitted in the three oldest MSS.
1 read, is there.

day as the previous one. We know from
• Luke vi. that it was on another (the
next ?) sabbath. their] not, of the

Pharisees ; but of the Jews generally, of
the people of the place. 10.] This

narrative is found in Mark and Luke with
considerable variation in details from our
text, those two Evangelists agreeing how-
ever with one another. In both these ac-
counts, they (the Scribes and Pharisees,
Luke) were watching our Lord to see
whether He would heal on the Sabbath : —
and He {knowing their thoughts, Luke)
ordered the man to stand forth in the
midst, and asked them the question here

§iven. The question about the animal
oes not occur in either of them, but in
Luke xiv. 5, on a similar occasion. The
additional particulars given are very in-
teresting. By Luke, — it was the right hand ;
by Mark, — our Lord looJceq) round on them
with anger, being grieved for the hardness
of their hearts : — And the Merodians were
joined with the Pharisees in their counsel
against Him. See notes on Luke.
dry] "withered," literally "dried up,"
as in Mark : of which the use had been
lost and the vital powers withered. The
construction of this verse is involved:
there 1b a double question, as in ch. vii. 9.
Our Lord evidently asks this aa
being a thing allowed and done at the
time when He spoke: but subsequently
(perhaps, suggests Stier, on account of
these words of Christ), it was forbidden in
the Talmud; and it was only permitted
to lag planks for the beast to come out.
18.] Our Lord does no outward

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ST. MATTHEW.

XII.

kch.XTTil.l.
John t. 18:
X.W: xLM.

pch.HL17:
xvii. ft.

q. iee oh. iz. 8S.

JUrklll.il.

other. 14 Then k the Pharisees went out, and held a coun-
cil against him, how they might destroy him. 15 But
when Jesus knew it, ]he withdrew himself from thence :
01 and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them
all ; 16 and n charged them that they should not make
him known : W that it might be fulfilled which was spoken,
by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18 ° Behold my servant,
whom I have chosen ; my beloved, * in whom my soul is
well pleased : I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall
shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive,
nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the
streets. 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking
flax shall he not quench, till he send forth * judgment unto
victory. 21 And in his name shall the Gentiles • trust.

22 q Then was brought unto him one possessed with a
devil, blind, and dumb : and he healed him, insomuch that
the [* blind and\ dumb both spake and saw. ^ And all
the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of

r render, the judgment. • render, hope.

* omitted in some of the oldest MSS.

act: the healing is performed without
even a word of command. The stretch-
ing forth the hand was to prove its sound-
ness, which the divine power wrought in
the act of stretching it forth. Thus his
enemies were disappointed, having no legal
ground against Him. 14/) This is

the first mention of counsel being taken
by the Pharisees (and Herodians, Mark,
as above) to put our Lord to death.

15-21.] Peculiar in this form to Mat-
thew. See Mark iii. 7—12 : Luke vi. 17—
19. 15.] them all: see similar ex-

pressions, ch. xix. 2: Luke vi. 19 ;— i. e.
< all who wanted healing.9 16. charged
them] see ch. viii. 4> and note. 17.]

On that it might be fulfilled, see note on
ch. i. 22. It must not be understood * and
thus was fulfilled .*' it is used only of the
purpose, not of the result, here or any
where. It is strange that any should be
found, at this period of the progress of
exegesis, to go back to a view which is
both superficial and ungrammatical. The
prophecy is partly from the LXX, partly
an original translation. The LXX have
' Jacob my servant . . . Israel my chosen
. . . ,' but the Rabbis generally understood
it of the Messiah. IS.] he shall shew

(announce) judgment to the Gentiles, viz.
in his office as Messiah and Judge. In
these words the majesty of his future

glory is contrasted with the meekness
about to be spoken of : q. d. * And yet He
shall not,' &c. 20.] A proverbial ex-

pression for, * He will not crush the con-
trite heart, nor extinguish the slightest
spark of repentant feeling in the sinner.'
Until He shall have brought out
the conflict, the cause, the judgment, unto
victory, — caused it, i. e. to issue in trie-
torv : — i. e. such shall be his behaviour
and such his gracious tenderness, during
the day of grace: while the conflict is
yet going on,— the judgment not yet de-
cided.

22 — 45.] Accusation op castdtg out
devils by beelzebub, akd oub lord's
discourse thereon. demand of a

SIGN FROM Him : His FURTHER DIS-
COURSE. Mark iii. 20—80 : Luke xi. I4-
86, where also see notes. This account is
given by Luke later in our Lord's minis-
try, but without any fixed situation or
time, and with less copiousness of detail.
See also ch. ix. 32, and notes there. St.
Mark (iii. 23—29) gives part of the dis-
course which follows, but without any de-
terminate sequence, and omitting the mi-
racle which led to it. 23. Is not this]
This, form of question is properly a doubt-
ful denial, involving in met a surmise in
the affirmative. ' Surely this is not ... ?'
the soil of David] see ch. ix. 27,

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14—27.

ST. MATTHEW.

David? ^'But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, r*h.ix.i*.
11 This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the
prince of the devils. *6 And * Jew* "knew their thoughts, ' j^t};*
and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself E6tUW-
is brought to desolation ; and every city or house divided
against itself shall not stand : 26 and if Satan cast out
Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his
kingdom stand. 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils,
by whom do your w children cast them out ? therefore they

* render, This man. v same of the oldest MSS. read He.

w render, sons.

and note. 24.] St. Mark states (pi.

22) that this accusation was brought by
the " scribes who came dawn from Jeru-
salem ; " Luke (xi. 15), by " same of them,"
i. e. of the multitude. On the charge it-
self. Trench remarks, * A rigid monotheistic
religion like the Jewish, left but one way
of escape from the authority of miracles,
which once were acknowledged to be in-
deed such, and not mere collusions and
sleights of hand. There remained nothing
to say but that which we find in the N. T.
the adversaries of our Lord continually
did say, namely, that these works were
works of hell.' 26.] The Pharisees

said this covertly to some among the mul-
titude; see Luke, vv. 15, 17. " There is
at first sight a difficulty in the argument
which our Saviour draws from the oneness
of the kingdom of Satan: viz. that it
seems the very idea of this kingdom, that
it should be this anarchy ; blind rage and
hate not only against God, but each part
of it warring against every other part.
And this is most deeply true, that hell is
as much in arms against itself as against
Heaven : neither does our Lord deny that
t» respect of itself that kingdom is in-
finite contradiction and division : only He
asserts that in relation to the kingdom of
goodness it is at one : there is one life in
it and one soul in relation to that. Just
as a nation or kingdom may embrace
within itself infinite parties, divisions, dis-
cords, jealousies, and heartburnings : yet,
if it is to subsist as a nation at all, it must
not, as regards other nations, have lost
its sense of unity; when it does so, of
necessity it falls to pieces and perishes."
Trench, Miracles, p. 68. We may observe
(1) that our Lord here in the most solemn
manner re-asserts and confirms the truths
respecting the kingdom of evil which the
Jews also held. The kingdoms are so set
parallel with one another, that the denial
of the reality of the one with its chief, or
the supposing it founded merely in assent

on the part of our Lord to Jewish no-
tions, inevitably brings with it the same
conclusions with regard to the other.
They are both real, and so is the conflict
between them. (Z) That our Lord here
appeals not to an insulated case of cast-
ing out of devils, in which answer might
have been made, that the craft of Satan
might sometimes put on the garb and
arts of an adversary to himself, for his
own purposes,— but to the general and
uniform tenor of all such acts on his part,
in which He was found as the continual
Adversary of the kingdom of Satan. (3)
That our Lord proceeds to shew that the
axiom is true of all human societies, even
to a family, the smallest of such. (4) That
He does not state the same of an indi-
vidual man, 'Every man divided against
himself falleth,' rests upon deeper grounds,
which will be entered on in the notes on
w. 80, 31. 27.] The interpretation

of this verse has been much disputed;
viz. as to whether the casting out by the
sons of the Pharisees (scholars,— disciples;
see 2 Kings ii. 3 and passim) were real or
pretended exorcisms. The occurrence men-
tioned Luke ix. 49 does not seem to apply ;
for there John says, Master, we saw .one
casting out devils in thy Vante, which
hardly could have been the case with those
here referred to. Nor again can the vaga-
bond Jews, exorcists, of Acts xix. 13 be
the same as these, inasmuch as they also
named over the possessed the name of the
Lord Jesus ; or at all events it can be no
such invocation which is here referred to.
In Josephus (Antt. viii. 2. 5) we read that
Solomon " left forms of exorcism, by which
they cast out daemons so that they never
return. And," he adds, " this kind of cure
is very common among us to this day."
It is highly necessary to institute this
enquiry as to the reality of their exorcisms :
for it would leave an unworthy impression
on the reader, and one very open to the
cavils of unbelief, were we to sanction the

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gle

ST. MATTHEW.

xn.

shall be your judges. M But if I cast out devils by the

%^S'Jt Kike. Spirit of God, then * the kingdom of God is come unto you.

i mi xTti.** 29 u qf ejge ^ oan ^^^ enter into a strong man's house.

ultt.xlix.tt. & •*

and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man ?
and then he will spoil his house. 8° He that is not with

t x«rk tuts. me ** a&a"ls* meJ an<i ne that gathereth not with me
Sf^ scattereth abroad. 81 Wherefore I say unto you, T All
t'u£ manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto z men :
* the Vatican MS. reads, you men.

idea that our Lord would have solemnly
compared with his own miracles, and
drawn inferences from, a system of im-
posture, which on that supposition, these
Pharisees must have known to be such.

I infer then that the sons of the Pharisees
did really cast out devils, and I think this
view is confirmed by what the multitudes
said in ch. ix. 83, where upon the dumb
speaking after the devil was cast out they
exclaimed, "It never was so seen in Is-
rael :" meaning that this was a more com-
plete healing than they had ever seen be-
fore. ' The difficulty has arisen mainly
from forgetting that miracles, as such, are
no test of truth, but have been permitted
to, and prophesied of, false religions and
teachers. See Exodus vii. 22 ; viii. 7 : ch.
xxiv. 24, Ac. : Deut. xiii. 1 — 5, There is
an important passage in Justin Martyr, in
which he Bays that the Name of the Son
of God Himself never failed to cast out
dsemons, whereas those of the Jewish
kings, prophets, and patriarchs, failed.
" But," he adds, " if you used the Name
of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
perhaps it might prevail." Irenams says
that by this invocation the Jews cast out
demons even in his time. Jerome, Chry-
sotftom, and others understood "your sons"
to mean the Apostles, your judges,
in the sense of convicting you of partiality.

28. by the Spirit of God] equivalent
to "by theflnperofGod," Luke j see Exod.
viii. 9. if oome, emphatic in position :

but merely, has oome unto (upon) you : not
* is already upon you,' i. e. ' before you
looked for it/ — as Stier and Wesley.
29.] Luke has the word " a stronger"
applied to the spoiler in this verse ; a title
given to our Lord by the Baptist, ch. iii.

II and parallels ; see also Isa. xl. 10 ; xlix.
24, 25 ; liii. 12. Compare note on Luke xi.
21 f., which is the fuller report of this
parabolic saying. 80.] These words
nave been variously understood. Chrysos-
torn and Euthymius understand them to
refer to the devil : Bengel, Schleiermacher,
and Neander, to the Jewish exorcists

named above. Grotius and others under-
stand it as merely a general proverb, and
the "me" to mean 'any one,* and here to
apply to Satan, the sense being, * If I do
not promote Satan's kingdom, which X
have proved that I do not, then I must be
his adversary' But this is on all accounts
improbable: see below on gathereth and
scattereth. We must regard it as a say-
ing setting forth to us generally the entire
and complete disjunction of the two king-
doms, of Satan and God. There is and
can be in the world no middle party :
they who are not with Christ, who do not
gather with Him,— are against Him and
his work, and as far as in them lies are
undoing it See Bom. viii. 7. And thus
the saying connects itself with the follow-
ing verse: — this being the case, Where-
fore I say unto you, — the sin of an open
belying of the present power of the Holy
Spirit of God working in and for His
Kingdom, assumes a character surpassingly
awful. This saying is no way inconsistent
with that in Mark ix. 40: Luke ix. 50.
That is not a conversion of this, for
the terms of the respective propositions
are not the same. See note on Mark
ix. 40. As usual, this saying of our

Lord reached further than the mere occa-
sion to which it referred, and spoke forcibly
to those many half-persuaded hesitating
persons who nattered themselves that they
could strike out a line avoiding equally
the persecution of men and the rejection
of Christ. He informed them (and in-
forms us also) of the impossibility of such
an endeavour. In the gathereth there

is an allusion to the idea of gathering the
harvest : see ch. xiii. 30 : John xi. 52, and
for scattereth, John x. 12, in all which
places the words exactly bear out their
sense here. 81, 33.] Wherefore, be-

eause this is the ease : see last note. No-
tice again the I say unto you, used by our
Lord when He makes some revelation of
things hidden from the sons of men : see
ch. vi. 29, and xviii. 10, 19 : and ver. 36
below. The distinction in these much-

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28—34.

ST. MATTHEW.

wbut the blasphemy 7 against the Holy Ghat shall not be wAet.Tii.51.

forgiven [■ unto men] . 82 And whosoever x speaketh a word * g^1^

against the Son of man, *it shall be forgiven him: but^JriJiuii.

whosoever speaketh agajnst the Holy Ghost, it shall not be

forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world

to come. & Either make the tree good, and £his fruit •<*•▼«• v.

good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt :

for the tree is known by his fruit. 8* O ** generation of •Siffi'

vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? b for b Luke ri.«.

out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

7 render, of the Spirit.

controverted verses seems to be, between
(1) the sin and blasphemy which arises
from culpable ignorance and sensual blind-
ness, as that of the fool who said in his
heart 'There is no God,' — of those who,
e. g. Sanl of Tarsus, opposed Jesus as not
being the Christ; which persons, to what-
ever degree their sin may unhappily ad-
vance, are capable of enlightenment, re-
pentance, and pardon : — and (2) the blas-
phemy of those who, acknowledging God,
and seeing his present power working by
his Holy Spirit, openly oppose themselves
to it, as did, or as were very near doing
(for our Lord does not actually imply that
they had incurred this dreadful charge),
these Pharisees. They may as yet have
been under the veil of ignorance; but this
their last proceeding, in the sight of Him
who knows the hearts, approximated very
near to, or perhaps reached, this awful
degree of guilt. The principal misunder-
standing of this passage has arisen from
the prejudice which possesses men's minds
owing to the use of the words, f the tin
against the Holy Ghost.' It is not a par-
ticular species of sin which is here con-
demned, but a definite act shewing a state
of sin, and that state a wilful determined
opposition to the present power of the
Holy Spirit; and this as shewn by its
fruit, blasphemy. The declaration, in sub-
stance, often occurs in the N. T. See

1 John v. 16, and note on "sin" there:

2 Tim. iii. 8 : Jude 4, 12, 13 : Heb. x.
26 — 81 ; vi. 4 — 8. No sure inference
can be drawn from the words neither in
the world to come— with regard to for-
giveness of sins in a future state. Olshau-
sen remarks that a parallel on the other
side is found in ch. x. 41, 42, where the
recognition of divine power in those sent
from God is accompanied with promise of
eternal reward. He himself however un-
derstands the passage (as many others
have done) to imply forgiveness on repent-

omitted by our two oldest MSS. f TTNIVF.RSIXl
a render> offspring. \^ 0^ ^

ance in the imperfect state of the deltd* - tl'lLSr^0^
before the judgment, and considers it to
be cognate with 1 Pet. iii. 18 ff. Augustine
speaks very strongly : " It could not be
said with truth of any, that * it shall not
be forgiven them neither in this world
nor either in the world to come,' un-
less there were some who are to be for-
given not in this world, but in the world .
to come." See, on the whole subject, note
on 1 Pet. iii. 18 ff. In the almost en-
tire silence of Scripture on any such doc-
trine, every principle of sound interpre-
tation requires that we should hesitate
to support it by two difficult passages,
in neither of which does the plain con-
struction of the words absolutely require
it. The expressions this world (equi-

valent to "this present world," Tit.
ii. 12: 2 Tim. iv. 10; "this time*'
Mark x. 80; "the course (age) of this
world'* Eph. ii. 2; "this present evil
world," Gal. i. 4) and the world to come
(see Mark x. 90; equivalent to " that
world," Luke xx. 85 ; " the ages to come,"
Eph. ii. 7) were common among the Jews,
and generally - signified respectively the
time before and after the coming of the
Messiah. In the N. T. these significations
are replaced by — the present life, and that
to come : the present mixed state of wheat
and tares, and the future completion of
Messiah's Kingdom after the great har-
vest. These terms seem to differ from
"the kingdom of heaven," or "of Ood,"
in never being spoken of, or as in, indi-
viduals, but as an age of time belonging
to the universal Church. 88, 84.J

not, as generally understood, equivalent

to ' represent as:' for then the

clause 'for out Ac.' loses its meaning: —
but literally, make. The verse is a pa-
rable, not merely a similitude. 'There
are but two ways open : either make the
tree and its fruit both good, or both bad :
for by the fruit the tree is known.' How

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ST. MATTHEW.

XII.

ch.XTi.l.
John ti. 18.
1 Cor. L «.

4Xn.lTil.8.
oh.iri.4.
John It. 48.

86 A good man out of * the good treasure of the heart
bringeth forth good things : and an evil man out of ° the
evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 86 But I say unto
you, That every idle d word that men shall speak, they shall
give account thereof in the day of judgment. 87 For by
thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou
shalt be condemned. ** c Then certain of the scribes and of
the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a
sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them,
An evil and d adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the

* read, his good treasure. ° render, his.

d render, saying.

make, the parable does not say : bat let at
remember, the Creator speaks, and sets
forth a law of hit own creation, with
which oar judgments mast be in accord.
This verse resumes again the leading argu-
ment, and sets forth the inconsistency of
the Pharisees in representing Him as in.
league with evil, whose works were uni-
formly good. But the words have a
doable reference: to oar Lord Himself,
who could not be evil, seeing that His
works were good ; and (which leads on to
the next verse) to the Pharisees, who
could not speak good things, because their
works were evil. 86 — 87.] The trea-

sure spoken of is that inner storehouse
of good and evil only seen by God and
(partially) by ourselves. And on that ac-
count— because words, so lightly thought
of by the world and the careless, spring
from the inner fountains of good and ill,
therefore they will form subjects of the
judgment of the great day, when the
whole life shall be unfolded and pro-
nounced upon. See James iii. 2 — 12.
idle is perhaps best taken here in its
milder and negative sense, as not yet de-
termined on till the judgment: so that
oar Lord's declaration is a deduction "a
minori," and if of every idle saying, then
how much more of every wicked saying !
87.] The speech, being the overflow
of the heart, is a specimen of what is
within: is the outward utterance of the
man, and on this ground will form a sub-
ject of strict enquiry in the great day,
being a considerable and weighty part of
oar works. 88.] St. Luke (zi. 15,

16) places the accusation of casting out
devils by Beelzebub and this request to-
gether, and then the discourse follows. It
seems that the first part of the discourse
gave rise, as here related, to the request
for a sign (from Heaven); but, as we

might naturally expect, and as we learn
from St. Luke, on the part of different
persons from those who made the accusa-
tion. In consequence of our Lord de-
claring that His miracles were wrought
by the Holy Ghost, they wish to see some
decisive proof of this by a sign, not from
Himself, but from Heaven. The ac-

count in ch. xvi. 1 — 4 manifestly relates
to a different occurrence : see notes there.
Cf. John vi. 80, 81; xii. 28. 89.]

adulterous (see reff.), because they had
been the peculiar people of the Lord, and
so in departing from Him had broken the
covenant of marriage, according to the
similitude so common in the prophets.
The expression there shall no sign
be given to it does not, as has been main-
tained, exclude our Lord's miracles from
being eigne : but is the direct answer to
their request in the sense in which we
know they used the word, ' a sign, not
wrought by Sim, and eo able to be sus-
pected of magic art, but one from Heaven*
Besides, even if this were not so, how can
the refusing to work a miracle to satisfy
them, affect the nature or signification of
those wrought on different occasions, and
with a totally different view? The sign
of Jonas is the most remarkable fore-
shadowing in the O. T. of the resurrection
of our Lord. It was of course impossible
that His resurrection should be represented
by an actual resurrection, as his birth was
by births (Isaac, Samson, Samuel, Maher-
shalalhashbaz), and His death by deaths
(Abel; the substitute for Isaac; Zecha-
riah the prophet ; the daily and occasional
sacrifices); so that we find the events
symbolic of his resurrection (Joseph's his-
tory; Isaac's sacrifice; Daniel's and Jo-
nah's deliverance), representing it in a
figure (lit., " a parable," Heb. xi. 19). In
the ease before us the figure was very

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85—43.

ST. MATTHEW.

prophet Jonas : *° cfor as Jonas was three days and three eJoMhi.17.

nights in the whale's belly ; so shall the Son of man be

three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 f The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this '^STiltS;

generation, and shall condemn it: g because they repented 8: EoBalL

at the preaching of Jonas ; and, behold, • a greater than *

Jonas u here. *& h The queen of the south shall rise up in big^j^i.

the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it :

for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear

the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, f a greater than Solo*

mm is here. tt % When the unclean spirit is gone out of

• render, there is more than Jonas here. f render, there is

more than Solomon here. ff render, But when.

remarkable, and easily to be recognized in
the O. T. narrative. For Jonah himself
calls the belly of the sea monster (Jonah
ii. 2), 'the belly of Hades,' = the heart
of the earth here. And observe, that the
type is not of oar Lord's body being depo-
sited in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathsea,
for neither could that be called ' the heart
of the earth,' nor could it be said that
'the Son of Man' was there daring the
time ; bat of our Lord's personal descent
into the place of departed souls: — see
Eph. iv. 9: 1 Pet. iii. 19, and note on
Luke xxiii. 43. 40.] If it be neces-

sary to make good the three days and
nights during which our Lord was in the
heart of the earth, it must be done by
having recourse to the Jewish method of
computing time. In the Jerusalem Tal-
mud (cited bv Lightfoot) it is said "that
a day and night together make up a day
(night-day), and that any part of such
a period is counted as the whole." See
Gen. xl. 13, 20: 1 Sam. xxx. 12, 13:
2 Chron. x. 5, 12 : Hoe. vi. 2. 41.]

In this verse there is no reference to the
sign of Jonas spoken of above, but to a
different matter, another way in which he
should be a sign to this generation. See
Luke xi. 29 f., and note. (But the preach-
ing of Jonas to the Ninevites was a sign
after his resurrection t so shall the preach-
ing of the Son of Man by His Spirit in His
Apostles be after His resurrection. Stier.)
On the adjective, bereandver. 42, being
in the neuter, see above, ver. 6, note.
There is more than Jonas here] No matter
so worthy of arousing repentance had ever
been revealed or preached as the Gospel :
no matter so worthy of exciting the earnest
attention of all. And the Lord Mimself,
the Announcer of this Gospel, is greater
than all the sons of men : his preaching,

greater than that of Jonah : his wisdom,
than that of Solomon. 42. The queen

of the south] Josephus calls her the
woman who then reigned over Egypt
and ^Ethiopia, i.e. over Meroe (whose
queens were usually called Candace. Plin.
Hist. vi. 29). Abyssinian tradition agrees
with this account, calls her Maqueda, and
supposes her to have embraced the Jewish
religion in Jerusalem. The Arabians on
the other hand also claim her, calling her
Balkis, which latter view is probably nearer
the truth, Sheba being a tract in Arabia
Felix, near the shores of the Red Sea,
near the present Aden, abounding in spice
and gold and precious stones.
43.] This important parable, in the simili-
tude itself, sets forth to us an evil spirit
driven out from a man, wandering in his
misery and restlessness through desert
places, the abodes and haunts of evil
spirits (see Isa. xiii. 21, 22 ; xxxiv. 14),
and at last determining on a return to his
former victim, whom he finds so prepared
for his purposes, that he associates with
himself seven other fiends, by whom the
wretched man being possessed, ends miser-
ably. In its interpretation we may trace
three distinct references, each full of
weighty instruction. (1) The direct ap-
plication of the parable is to the Jewish
people, and the parallel runs thus: — The
old daemon of idolatry brought down on the
Jews the Babylontsn captivity, and was
cast out by it. They did not after their
return fall into it again, but rather en-
dured persecution, as under Antiochns
Epiphanes. The emptying, sweeping, and
garnishing may be traced in the growth of
Pharisaic hypocrisy and the Rabbinical
schools between the return and the coming
of our Lord. The re-possession by the one,
and accession of seven other spirits more

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9fc

ST. MATTHEW.

XII. 44^-50.

i Job 1.7.
1 Pet v. 8.

kHeb.Yl.4i
x.M. I Pet.

loh.xilLW.
John 11. lit
t1I.I>6.
AetoLli.
lCor.tx.6.
OaLI.lt.

m bm John rr.
14. OtLr.O:

aa s&. shall

ILII.

a man, ! he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and
findeth- none. ** Then he saith, I will return into my
house from whence I came out ; and when he is come, he
findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. ** Then goeth he,
and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked
than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : k and the
last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so
shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother
and lhis brethren stood without, desiring to speak with
him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and
thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who
is my mother ? and who are my brethren ? *• And he
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,
Behold my mother and my brethren. w For m whosoever
do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the
same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

malicious than the first, hardly needs
explanation. The desperate infatuation of
the Jews after oar Lord's ascension, their
bitter hostility to His Church, their miser-
able end as a people, are known to all.
Chrysostom, who gives in the main this
interpretation, notices their continued in-
fatuation in his own day: and instances
their joining in the impieties of Julian.
(2) Strikingly parallel with this runs the
history of the Christian Church. Not
long after the apostolic times, the golden
calves of idolatry were set up by the
Church of Borne. What the effect of the
captivity was to the Jews, that of the
Reformation has been to Christendom.
The first evil spirit has been cast out.
But by the growth of hypocrisy, seen-
larity, and rationalism, the house has be-
come empty, swept, and garnished : swept
and garnished by the decencies of civiliza-
tion and discoveries of secular knowledge,
but empty of living and earnest faith.
And he must read prophecy but ill, who
does not see under all these seeming
improvements the preparation for the
final development of the man of sin, the
great re-possession, when idolatry and the
seven worse spirits shall bring the out-
ward frame of so-called Christendom to a
fearful end. (3) Another important ful-
filment of the prophetic parable may be
found in the histories of individuals. By
religious education or impressions, the
devil has been cast out of a man ; but how

often do the religious lives of men spend
themselves in the sweeping and garnish-
ing (see Luke xi. 89, 40), in formality and
hypocrisy, till utter emptiness of real
faith and spirituality has prepared them
for that second fearful invasion of the
Evil One, which is indeed worse than the
first ! (See Heb. i. 4, 6 : 2 Pet ii. 20—22.)
46—50.] His Mother and Bbbthbixt
seek to speak with Him. Mark iii.
81—35. Luke viii. 19-21. In Mark the
incident is placed as here : in Luke, after
the parable of the sower. 46.] In

Mark iii. 21 we are told that his relations
went out to lay hold on Sim, for they said,
Se is beside Himself: and that the reason
of this was his continuous labour in teach-
ing, which had not left time so much a* to
eat. There is nothing in this care far his
bodily health (from whatever source the
act may have arisen on the part of his
brethren, see John vii. 5) inconsistent with
the known state of his mother's mind (see
Luke ii. 19, 51). They stood, i.e.

outside the throng of hearers around our
Lord; or, perhaps, outside the house. He
meets their message with a reproof, which
at the same time conveys assurance to His
humble hearers. He came for all men:
and though He was born of a woman, He
who is the second Adam, taking our entire
humanity on Him, is not on that account
more nearly united to her, than to all
those who are united to Him by the
Spirit; nor bound to regard the call of

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XIII. 1—3.

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII. l n The same day went Jesus out of the house, and
sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered
together unto him, so that *he went into a ship, and sat; »lh1my.8.
and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3And he
spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold,

fl render, In that day.

earthly relations bo much as the welfare
of those whom He came to teach and to
save. It is to be noticed that our

Lord, though He introduces the additional
term sister into his answer, does not (and
indeed could not) introduce/crf her, inasmuch
aa He never speaks of any earthly Father.
See Luke ii. 49. All these characteristics
of the mother of our Lord are deeply
interesting, both in themselves, and as
building up, when put together, the most
decisive testimony against the fearful
superstition which has assigned to her the
place of a goddess in the Romish mytho-
logy. Great and inconceivable as the
honour of that meek and holy woman
was, we find her repeatedly (see John
ii. 4) the object of rebuke from her divine
Son, and hear Him here declaring, that
the honour is one which the humblest
believer in Him has in common with her.
Stier remarks (Reden Jesu, ii. 57 note),
that the- juxtaposition of sister and mother
in the mouth of our Lord makes it pro-
bable that the brethren also were his actual
brothers according to the flesh: see note-
on ch. xiii. 55.

Chap. XIII. 1— W.] The seyiot pa-
yables. (The parallels, see under each.)
1, 2.] Mark iv. 1. 1. In that

day] These words may mean literally, as
rendered in the A. V., the same day. But
it is not absolutely necessary. The words
certainly do bear that meaning in Mark
iv. 35, and important consequences follow
(see note there) ; but in Acts viii. 1 they
are as evidently indefinite. The instances
of their occurrence in John (xiv. 20; xvi.
23, 26) are not to the point, their use
there being prophetical. 8. in para-

bles] The senses of this word in the N. T.
are various. My present concern with it
is to explain its meaning as applied to the
"parables" of our Lord. (1) The Para-
ble is not a Fable, inasmuch as the Fable
is concerned only with the maxims of
worldly prudence, whereas the parable
conveys spiritual truth. The Fable in its
form rejects probability, and teaches
through the fancy, introducing speaking
annuals, or even inanimate things ; whereas
the Parable adheres to probability, and
teaches through the imagination, intro-

ducing only things which may possibly
happen. " A parable is a story of that
which purports to have happened, — has
not actually happened, but might have
happened" (2) Nor is the Parable a
Myth: inasmucn as in Mythology the
course of the story is set before us as the
truth, and simple minds receive it as the
truth, only the reflective mind penetrating
to the distinction between the vehicle and
the thing conveyed; whereas in the Pa-
rable these two stand distinct from one
another to all minds, so that none but the
very simplest would ever believe in the
Parable as fact. (3) Nor is the Parable a
Proverb : though the Greek word (para-
boU) is used for both in the N. T. (Luke
iv. 23 ; v. 36 : Matt. xv. 14, 15.) It is
indeed more like a Proverb than either of
the former; being an expanded Proverb,
and a Proverb a concentrated parable, or
fable, or result of human experience ex-
pressed without a figure. Hence it will be
seen that the Proverb ranges far wider
than the parable, which is an expansion
-of only one particular case of a proverb.
Thus 'Physician heal thyself would, if
expanded, make a parable ; " dog eat dog,"
a fable; "honesty is the best policy,"
neither of these. (4) Nor is the Parable
an Allegory : inasmuch as in the Allegory
the imaginary persons and actions are
placed in the very places and footsteps of
the real ones, and stand there instead of
them, declaring all the time by their
names or actions who and what they are.
Thus the Allegory is self-interpreting, and
the persons in it are invested with the
attributes of those represented; whereas
in the Parable the courses of action re-
lated and understood run indeed parallel,
but the persons are strictly confined to
their own natural places and actions, which
are, in their relation and succession, typical
of higher things. (5) It may well hence
be surmised what a Parable is. ^ It is a
serious narration, within the limits of
probability, of a course of action point-
ing to some moral or spiritual Truth;
and derives its force from real analogies
impressed by the Creator of all things on
His creatures. The great Teacher by Pa-
rables therefore is He who needed not that

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ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

ia sower went forth to bow; * and when he sowed, some
[seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and de-
voured them up : 6 some fell upon i stony place*, where they
had not much earth : and forthwith they sprung up, be-
cause they had no deepness of earth : 6 *and when the sun
was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root,
they withered away. 7 And some fell among l thorns;
and the thorns sprung up, and choked them : 8 but other
bGen.xxTi.ii fell into m good ground, and brought forth fruit, some ban
hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath
ears [nto hear], let him hear. 10 And the disciples came,

* render, the. J render, the stony places. k render, but.

1 render, the thorns. m render, the good ground. n omit.

teaching led to His judicially adopting
the course here indicated, without a para-
ble spake Me not (nothing) unto them.
The other order would be inconceivable;
that after such parabolic teaching, and
such a reason assigned for it, the Lord
should, that reason remaining in full force,
have deserted his parabolic teaching, and
opened out his meaning as plainly as in
the Sermon on the Mount. *8 — 9.]

The Softer. Mark iv. 2—9 : Luke viiL
4—8. See note on the locality in w. 51,
52. 8.] For the explanation of the

parable see on vr. 19—28. 4. by the

way aide] by (by the side of, along the
line of) the path through the field. Luke
inserts " and it was trodden down," and
after fowls— "of the air." 6.] the

atony places ( =" the rock " Luke), places
where the native rock is but slightly covered
with earth (which abound in Palestine),
and where therefore the radiation from
the face of the rock would cause the seed
to spring up quickly, the shallow earth
being heated by the sun of the day before.
6.] root = "moisture" Luke. If
the one could have struck down, it would
have found the other. 7. among the

thorns] In places where were the roots of
thorns, beds of thistles, or such like,
sprung up = " sprung up with it " Luke :
Mark adds "and it yielded no fruit."
8.] After fruit Mark inserts "that
sprang up and increased." Luke gives
only "an hundredfold." 9.1 is

common to all three Evangelists (Mark
and Luke insert " to hear").

10 — 17.] Our Lord's reason for

TEACHING IN PARABLES. Mark iv. 10—

12. Luke viii. 9, 10, but much abridged.

10.] the disciples = "they that

were about him with the twelve," Mark.

This question took place during a pause in

any should testify of man ; for He knew
what was in man, John ii. 25 : moreover,
He made man, and orders the course and
character of human events. And this is
the reason why none can, or dare, teach
by parables, except Christ. We do not, as
He did, see the inner springs out of which
flow those laws of eternal truth and jus-
tice, which the Parable is framed to
elucidate. Our parables would be in dan-
ger of perverting, instead of guiding
aright. The Parable is especially adapted
to different classes of hearers at once : it
is understood by each according to his
measure of understanding. See note on
ver. 12. The seven Parables related

in this chapter cannot be regarded as a
collection made by the Evangelist as re-
lating to one subject, the Kingdom of
Heaven, and its development; they are
clearly indicated by ver. 53 to have been
all spoken on one and the same occasion,
and form indeed a complete and glorious
whole in their inner and deeper sense.
The Jlrst four of these parables appear to
have been spoken to the multitude from
the ship (the interpretation of the parable
of the sower being interposed); the last
three, to the disciples in the house.
From the expression he began in the
parallel place in St. Mark, compared with
the question of the disciples in ver. 10, —
and with ver. 34, — it appears that this
was the first beginning of our Lord's
teaching by parables, expressly so delivered,
and properly so called. And the natural
sequence of things here agrees with, and
confirms Matthew's arrangement against
those who would place (as Ebrard) all this
chapter before the Sermon on the Mount.
He there spoke without parables, or
mainly so ; and continued to do so till the
rejection and misundprstanding of his

Digitized by VjOOQIC

4—15.

ST. MATTHEW.

and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in para-
bles? ll He answered and said unto them, Because c it is oicot.il 10.
given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 d For whosoever downer.*.
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abun-
dance : but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken
away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in
parables : because they seeing see not ; and hearing they
hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is
fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, eBy hearing tb^i.*
ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye J^Stm!*
shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 for this people's heart Sf'soSE"
is waxed gross, and their ears fare dull of hearing, and '**•▼• ll-

our Lord's teaching, not when He** had
entered the house, ver. 36. The question
shews the newness of this method of teach"
ing to the disciples. It is not mentioned
in Mark : - only the enquiry into the mean-
ing of the parable jast spoken: nor in
Lake : but the answer implies it.
11.] The Kingdom of Heaven, like other
kingdoms, has its secrets (mysteries, — see
a definition by St. Paul in Rom. xvi. 25 f.,
— viz. "Something kept secret since the
world began, but now made manifest")
and inner counsels, which strangers must
not know. These are only revealed to the
humble diligent hearers, to you : to those
who were immediately around the Lord
with the twelve ; not to them=r" the rest "
Luke, = " them thai are without " Mark.
(1 Cor. v. 12, 18.) it is not given is re-
presented by "in parables" Luke, and *• all
things are done in parables " Mark. 12.]
In this saying of the Lord is summed up the
double force — the revealing and concealing
properties of the parable. By it, he who
hath,— he who not only hears with the
ear, but understands with the heart, has
more given to him; and it is for this
main purpose undoubtedly that the Lord
spoke parables : to be to His Church reve-
lations of the truth and mysteries of His
Kingdom. But His present purpose in
speaking them, as further explained be*
low, was the quality possessed by them,
and declared in the latter part of this
verse, of hiding their meaning from the
hard-hearted and sensual. By them, he
who hath not, in whom there is no spark
of spiritual desire nor meetness to receive
the engrafted word, has taken from him
even that which he hath ("seemeth to
have" Luke) ; even the poor confused no-
tions of heavenly doctrine which a sensual
and careless life allow him, are farther
bewildered and darkened by this simple

teaching, into the depths of which he can-
not penetrate so far as even to ascertain
that they exist. No practical comment
on the latter part of this saying « can be
more striking, than that which is fur-
nished to our day by the study of the
German rationalistic (and, I may add,
some of our English harmonistic) Com-
mentators ; while at the same time we may
rejoice to see the approximate fulfilment
of the former in such commentaries as
those of Olshausen, Neander, Stier, and
Trench. In ch. xxv. 29, tho fuller mean-
ing of this saying, as applied not only to
hearing, but to the whole spiritual lite, is
brought out by our Lord. 13.] be-

cause they seeing see not, &c.=(in Mark,
Luke ; similarly below) " that seeing they
may . . . not . . . ." Ac. In the deeper
view of the purpose of the parable, both of
these run into one. Taking the saying of
ver. 12 for our guide, we have " whosoever
hath not" — " because seeing they see not,"
— and "from him shall be taken away
even that he hath" — " that seeing they may
not see" The difficulties raised on these
variations, and on the prophecy quoted in
w. 14, 15, have arisen entirely from not
keeping this in view. 14, 15.] This

prophecy is quoted with a similar reference
John xii. 40 : Acts xxviii. 26, 27 ; see also
Bom. xi. 8. is fulfilled] is being

fulfilled, ' finds one of the stages of its ful-
filment :' a partial one having taken place
in the contemporaries of the prophet.
The prophecy is cited verbatim from the
LXX, which changes the imperative of
the Hebrew (' Make the heart of this peo- •
pie fat/ Ac, E. V.) into the indicative, as '
bearing the same meaning. in them

properly signifies relation, * with regard to
them.' is waxed gross] literally,

grow fiat; from prosperity. are

dun of hearing] literally, heard heavily,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

their eyes they have closed ; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and
I should heal them. 16 But * blessed are your eyes, for
they see : and your ears, for they hear. ]7 For verily I
h oen. xiix. is. say unto you, h That many prophets and righteous men
- *!epit?L h*vc desired to see those things which ye see,- and have
not seen them ; and to hear those things which ye hear,
and have not heard them.

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When
any one heareth the word !of the kingdom, and under-
standeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth

* dh.xrl.17.
Luke x. M>
M. John
TilLM.

lft.
10, 11.

'sluggishly and imperfectly,' their

eyet they have closed] fHeb. 'smeared
over.'} All this have tney done : all
this is* increased in them by their con-
tinuing to do it, and all lest they should
(and so that they cannot) hear, see,
understand, and be saved. I

should heal them = " it should be for-
given them" Mark. This citation gives
no countenance to the fatalist view of
the passage, but rests the whole blame
on the hard-heartedness and unreadiness
of the hearers, which is of itself the cause
why the very preaching of the word is a
means of further darkening and condemn-
ing them (see 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4). -
10, 17.] See ref. Prov. These verses occur
again in a different connexion, and with
the form of expression slightly varied, Luke
x. 23, 24. It was a saying likely to be
repeated. On the met that prophets, Ac.
desired to see those things? see 2 Sam.
xxiii. 5 : Job xix. 23 — 27 : also Exod. iv.
13, and Luke ii. 29—32. ■

18—28.] Interpretation op the pa-
yable op the sower. Mark iv. 10—
20. Luke viii. 9 — 18, who incorporate
with the answer of our Lord to the re-
quest of the disciples, much of our last
section. 18.] Hear, in the sense of

the verse before— hear the true meaning
of, 'hear in your hearts.' With regard
to the Parable itself, we may remark that
its great leading idea is that " mystery of
the Kingdom" according to which the
grace of Qod, and the receptivity of it
by man, work ever together in bringing
forth fruit. The seed is one and the same
every where and to all : but seed does not
spring up without earth, nor does earth
bring forth without seed ; and the success
or failure of the seed is the consequence of
the adaptation to its reception, or other-
wise, of the spot on which it falls. But

of course, on the other hand, as the en-
quiry, " Why is this ground rich, and that
barren?" leads us up into the creative
arrangements of God, — so a similar en-
quiry in the spiritual interpretation would
lead us into the inscrutable and sovereign
arrangements of Him who * preventeth us
that we may have a good will, and work-
eth with us when we have that will' (Art.
X. of the Church of England). See, on
the whole, my Sermons before the Univer-
sity of Cambridge, February, 1858.
19.} In Luke we have an important pre-
liminary declaration, implied indeed here
also: "the seed is the word of God."
This word is in this parable especially
meant of the word preached, though the
word written is not excluded: nor the
word unwritten —the providences and judg-
ments, and even the creation, of God.
(See Bom. x. 17, 18.) The similitude in
this parable is alluded to in 1 Pet. i. 23 :
James i. 21. The sower is first the Son
of Man (ver. 37), then His ministers and
servants (1 Cor. iii. 6) to the end. He
sows over all the field, unlikely as well as
likely places; and commands His sowers
to do the same, Mark xvi. 15. Some,
Stier says, have objected to the parable a
want of truthful correspondence to reality,
because sowers do not thus waste their
seed by scattering it where it is not likely
to grow ; but, as he rightly answers, — the
simple idea of the parable must be borne
in mind, and its limits not transgressed —
*a sower went out to sow'— his sowing-
— sowing over all places, is the idea of the
parable. We see him only as a sower, not
as an economist. The parable is not
about Sim, but about the seed and what
happens to it. He is the fit representa-
tive of Ghd, who giveth liberally to all
men, and upbraideth not, James i. 5.
and understandeth it not is peculiar to

Digitized by VjOOQIC

16—23.

ST. MATTHEW.

2.
xzziii.

away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which

0 received seed by the way side. 2° But he that P received
the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the
word, and anon k with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not kE^k^
root in himself, but dureth for a while : for when tribula- J!'5" John
tion or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by,

1 he is offended. 22 He also that * received seed m among the lc8h^«j u
thorns is he that heareth the word ; ■ and the care of r this ?,Jfim!vtp.
world j and the deceitfulness of riches, cnoke the word, and

he becometh unfruitful. ^ But he that 8 received seed into

0 render, was sown. P render, was sown upon the stony places.

* render, was SOWH. r read, the world.

8 render, WBB SOWn upon.

Matthew, and very important ; as in Mark
and Lnke this first class of hearers are
without any certain index to denote them.
The reason of this not understanding is
clearly set forth by the parable : the
heart is hardened, trodden down ; the seed
cannot penetrate. the wicked one

= " Satan " (Mark, who also inserts
"immediately"), = "the devil9' (Luke).
The parable itself is here most satisfactory
as to the manner in which the Evil One
proceeds. By fowls of the air — passing
thoughts and desires,, which seem insigni-
ficant and even innocent — does Satan do
his work, and rob the heart of the precious
seed. St. Luke adds the purpose of Satan in
taking away the word : " lest they should
believe and be saved" he that was

•own by the way side (not, as A. V. " he
thai received seed by the way side").
This is not a confusion of similitudes, — no
' primary and secondary interpretation ' of
the seed, — but the deep truth, both of na-
ture and of grace. The seed sown spring-
ing up in the earth, becomes the plant,
and bears the fruit, or fails of bearing it ;
it is therefore the representative, when
sown, of the individuals of whom the dis-
course is. And though in this first case it
does not spring up, yet the same form of
speech is Kept up: throughout they are
they thai were sown, as, when the question
of bearing fruit comes, they must be. We
are said to be " born again by the word
of God" 1 Pet. i. 23. It takes us up into
itself, as the seed the earth, and we be-
come a new plant, a new creation : cf. also
below, ver. 38, "the good seed, are the
children of the Kingdom." 20, 21.]

In this second case, the surface of the
mind and disposition is easily stirred, soon
excited: but beneath lies a heart even
harder than the trodden way. So the
Vol. I.

plant, springing up under the false heat
of excitement, having no root struck down
into the depths of the being, is, when the
real heat from without arises, which is
intended to strengthen and forward the
healthy-rooted plant, withered and de-
stroyed. The Greek word signifies not
only 'dureth for a while,' but also 'is
the creature of circumstances,' changing
as they change. Both ideas are included.
St. Luke has, "in time of temptation fall
away" thus accommodating themselves to
that time. 22.] In this third sort,

all as regards the soil is well; the seed
goes deep, the plant springs up; all is
as in the next case, with but one excep*
tion, and that, the bearing of fruit —
becometh unfruitful = bring no fruit to
perfection (Luke). And this because the
seeds or roots of thorns are in, and are
suffered to spring up in the heart, and to
overwhelm the plant. There is a divided
will, a half-service (see on ch. vi. 25) which*
ever ends in the prevalence of evil over
good. This class is not confined to the
rich : riches in Scripture is not riches ab-
solutely, as possessed, but riches relatively,
as estimated by the desire and value for
them. St. Mark adds, and the lusts of (the)
other things, viz. the other things which
shall be added to us if we seek first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The identity of the seeds sown with the
individuals of these classes, as maintained
above, is strikingly shewn in Luke here :
that which fell among thorns, (these) are
they &c. (viii. 14.1 We may notice: (I)
That there is in these three classes a pbo-
GRE88, and that a threefold one:— (1) in
time:— the first receives a hindrance at
the very outset: the seed never springs
up: — the second after it has sprung up,
but soon after: — the third when it has
H

Digitized by VjOOQIC

98'

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

the good ground is he that heareth the word, and under-

standeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth,

some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The

kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which * sowed good

seed in his field : *6 but while men slept, his enemy came

and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth

fruit, then appeared the tares also. *? So the servants of

the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not

t some of the best MSS. read, had sowed.

we said above, the mystery of ike King-
dom here declared, — see Jer. iv. 3 : Hose*
1. 12 : Gal. vi. 7. See note on Lake viii.
15. an hundred, sixty, thirty, the

different degrees of faithfulness and devoted -
ness of life with which fruit is brought
forth by different classes of persons. There
is no point of comparison with the different
classes in the parable of the talents : for
he who had five talents yielded the same
increase as he who had two.

84—80.] Second fababls. The
tabes OF the field. Peculiar to Mat-
thew. For the explanation of this parable
see below, w. 86-43. 84.] is likened

unto a man, i. e. * is like the whole circum-
stances about to be detailed; like the case
of a man,' &c. A similar form of con-
struction is found in ch. xviii. 23, and in
other parables in Matthew. 85*3

mem ; i. e. not, * the men* belonging to the
owner of the field, but men generally : and
the expression is used only to designate
* in the night time,' not to charge the ser-
vants with any want of watchfulness,
■owed] more than this : the verb means,
■owed over the first seed. tares j

The Greek word is zizania : apparently
the darnel, or bastard wheat (lolium si-
bum), so often seen in our fields and by
our hedgerows; if so, what follows will be
explained, that the tares appeared when
the wheat came into ear, having been
previously not noticeable. It appears to
be an Eastern word. Our Lord was

speaking of an act of malice practised in
the East: — persons of revengeful disposi-
tion watch the ground of a neighbour being
ploughed, and in the night following sow
destructive weeds. (The practice is not
unknown even in England at present.
Since the publication of the first edition
of my Greek Test., a field belonging to
myself, at Gaddesby in Leicestershire,
was maliciously sown with charlock [sina-
pis arvensis] over the wheat. An action

entered, sprung up, and come to maturity :
or while it is so coming. — (2) in afpabsxt
Degbee. The climax is apparently from
tad to better ;— the first understand not:
the second understand and feel : the third
understand, feel, and practise. But also
(3) in beal deobee, from bad to worse.
Less awful is the state of those who under-
stand not the word and lose it immediately,
than that of those who feel it, receive it
with joy, and in time of trial fall away :
less awful again this last, than that of
those who understand, feel, and practise,
but are fruitless and impure. It has
been noticed also that the first is more the
fault of careless inattentive childhood ;
the second of ardent shallow youth; the
third of worldly self-seeking age. (II)
That these classes do not exclude one
another. They are great general divi-
sions, the outer circles of which fall into
one another, as they very likely might in
the field itself, in their different combina-
tions. 38.] Here also the fourth
olass must not be understood as a decided
well-marked company, excluding all the
rest. For the sod is not good by nature :
the natural man reoeiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God; but every predispo-
sition to receive them is of God: — even
the shallow soil covering the rock, even
the thorny soil, received its power to take
in and vivify the seed, from God. So that
divine grace is the enabling, vivifying,
cleansing power throughout: and these
sown on the good land are no naturally
good, amiable, or pure class, but those
prepared by divine grace—receptive, by
granted receptive power. The sowing is
not necessarily the first that has ever
taken place: the field has been and is
continually resown, so that the care of
the husbandman is presupposed. Again,
no irresistible grace or absolute decree of
God must be dreamt of here. God work-
ing not barely upon, but with man, is, as

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24—33.

ST. MATTHEW.

thou sow good seed in thy field ? from whence then hath
it tares? ** He said unto them, nAn enemy hath done
this. v The servant* said unto him, Wilt thou then that we
go and gather them up ? 29 But he said, Nay ; lest while
ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. 80 w Let both grow together until the harvest : and
in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn
them : but ° gather the wheat into my barn. och.rn.is.

81 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which
a man took, and sowed in his field : 8S which indeed is the
least of all seeds : but when it is grown, it is the greatest
among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the
air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

83 Another parable spake he unto them ; The kingdom

11 literally, a man (which is) an enemy. v read, They.

w render, Leave both to grow.

at law was brought by the tenant, and
heavy damages obtained against the of-
fender.) 29.] Jerome in loc says :
" Between wheat and tares, which we call
lolium, as long as both are in the blade,
and the stalk is not yet in ear, there is a
great similitude, and discrimination is dif-
ficult, if not impossible." Jerome, it must
be remembered, resided in Palestine.

31, 32.] Thibd pabable. The ©bain
of mustard seed. Mark iv. 30—34:
Luke xiii. 18, 19. On the connexion of
this parable with the two last, Chrysostom
observes : " Having told them that of the
seed three parts perish, and only one is
preserved, and that in the preserved por-
tion itself there is such deleterious mix-
ture,— for fear they might say, ' And who
then and how many will be the faithful ?'
He goes on to remove this fear by the
parable of the mustard seed, helping their
faith, and shewing them that, all this not-
withstanding, the kingdom shall spread
and flourish." The comparison of king-
doms to trees was familiar to the Jews;
see Daniel iv. 10—12, 20—22 : Ezek. xxxi.
3—9; xvii. 22—24: Ps. lxxx. 8—11.

32. least of all] literally, less than all.
The words are not to be pressed to their
literal sense, as the mustard seed was a
well-known Jewish type for any thing
exceedingly small. The mustard tree at-
tains to a large size in Judaea. See cita-
tions from Lightfoot in my Greek Test.
This parable, like most others respecting

the kingdom of God, has a double refer-
ence — general and individual. (1) In the
general sense, the insignificant beginnings
of the kingdom are set forth: the little
babe cast in the manger at Bethlehem;
the Man of sorrows with no place to lay
His Head; the crucified One; or again
the hundred and twenty names who were
the seed of the Church after the Lord
had ascended; then we have the Kingdom
of God waxing onward and spreading its
branches here and there, and different
nations coming into it, " He must in-
crease," said the great Forerunner. We
must beware however of imagining that
the outward Church-form is this King-
dom. It has rather reversed the parable,
and is the worldly power waxed to a great
tree and the Churches taking refuge under
the shadow of it. It may be, where not
corrupted by error and superstition, sub-
servient to the growth of the heavenly
plant : but is not itself that plant. It is
at best no more than (to change the figure)
the scaffolding to aid the building, not the
building itself. (2) The individual appli-
cation of the parable points to the small
beginnings of divine grace; a word, a
thought, a passing sentence, may prove to
be the little seed which eventually fills
and shadows the whole heart and being,
and calls ' all thoughts, all passions, all de-
lights ' to come and shelter under it.

83.] Fourth pabable. The leave*.
Luke xiii. 20, 21. Difficulties have been

H 2

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100

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and
hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in para-
ph*, toviu. hies ; and without a parahle spake he x not unto them :
qBom.xYi^ 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the pro-
Si gSllm. pbet, saving, * I will open my mouth in parables ; q I will

x read, nothing.

raised as to the interpretation of this
parable which do not seem to belong to it.
It has been questioned whether leaven
must not be taken in the sense in which it
so often occurs in Scripture, as symbolic of
pollution and corruption. See Ezod. zii.
15, and other enactments of the kind,
passim in the law ; and ch. zvi. 6 : 1 Cor.
v. 6, 7. And some few have taken it thus,
and explained the parable of the progress
of corruption and deterioration in the
outward visible Church. But then, how
is it said that the Kingdom of Heaven is
like this leaven ? For the construction is
not the same as in ver. 24, where the
similitude is to the whole course of things
related, but answers to " a grain of mus-
tard seed which a man took" &c. : so
" leaven, which a woman took," &c. Again,
if the progress of the Kingdom of Heaven
be towards corruption, till the whole is
corrupted, surely there is an end of all the
blessings and healing influence of the
Gospel on the world. It will be seen that
such an interpretation cannot for a mo-
ment stand, on its own ground; bat much
less when we connect it with the parable
preceding. The two are intimately re-
lated. That was of the inherent self-
developing power of the Kingdom of
Heaven, as a seed, containing in itself the
principle of expansion ; this, of the power
which it possesses of penetrating and assi-
milating a foreign mass, till all be taken
up into it. And the comparison is not
only to the power, but to the effect of
leaven also, which has its good as well as
its bad side, and for that good is used:
viz. to make wholesome and fit for use
that which would otherwise be heavy and
insalubrious. Another striking point of
comparison is in the fact that leaven, as
used ordinarily, is a piece of the leavened
loqfjput amongst the new dough, just as
the Kingdom of Heaven is the renewal of
humanity bv the righteous Man Christ
Jesus. The Parable, like the last, has
its general and its individual application :
(1) in the penetrating of the whole mass
of humanity, by degrees, by the influence
of the Spirit of God, so strikingly wit-

nessed in the earlier ages by the dropping
of heathen customs and worship;— in mo-
dern times more gradually and secretly
advancing, but still to be plainly seen in
the various abandonments of criminal and
unholy practices (as e. g. in our own time
of slavery and duelling, and the increasing
abhorrence of war nmong Christian men),
and without doubt in the end to be sig-
nally and universally manifested. But
this effect again is not to be traced in
the establishment or history of so-called
Churches, but in the hidden advancement,
without observation, of that deep leaven-
ing power which works irrespective of
human forms and systems. (2) In the
transforming power of the 'new leaven*
on the whole being of individuals. "In
fact the Parable does nothing less than
set forth to us the mystery of regenera-
tion, both in its first act, which can be
but once, as the leaven is but once hidden ;
and also in the consequent (subsequent ?)
renewal by the Holy Spirit, which, as the
ulterior working of the leaven, is continual
and progressive." (Trench, p. 97.) Some
have contended for this as the sole appli-
cation of the parable ; but not, I think,
rightly. As to whether the woman has
any especial meaning, (though I am more
and more convinced that such considera-
tions are not always to be passed by as
nugatory,) it will hardly be of much con-
sequence here to enquire, seeing that women
bakers would be every where a matter of
course. Three of these measures, which
composed an ephah, appear to have been
the usual quantity prepared for a baking :
see Gen. xviii. 6 : Judg. vi. 19 : 1 Sam. i.
24. This being the case, we need not per.
haps seek for any symbolical interpretation :
though Olshausen's hint that the body,
soul, and spirit may perhaps be here in-
tended can hardly but occur to us, and
Stier*s, that "of the three sons of Noah
was the whole earth overspread," is worth
recording.
34, 86.] Conclusion op the pabables

SPOKEN TO THE MULTITUDES. Mark iv.

33, 34. 85. that it might be ful-

filled] See note on ch. i. 22. The pro-

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34—88.

ST. MATTHEW.

101

utter things which have been kept secret from the founda-
tion of the world.

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into
the house : and his disciples came unto him, saying, De-
clare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. s? He ^

r r cfa. rxTill. 19.

answered and said [Junto them\> He that soweth the good 2?*l51'15'

seed is the Son of man: 38 rthe field is the world: the £m.V.is.

' ' colli

7 omit.

phet, according to the superscription of
Psalm Ixxviii., is Asaph, so called 2 Chron.
Mix. 30, LXX.

36—43.] Intebpbetatiok of the
fabable op the tabes of the field.
Peculiar to Matthew. 88.] This verse
has been variously interpreted, notwith-
standing that its statements are so plain.
The consideration of it will lead ns into
that of the general nature and place of
the parable itself. The field is the world ;
if understood of the Church, then the
Church only as commensurate with the
world, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature (Mark
xvi. 15) ; the Chuhch standing for THE
wobld, not, the world for the Church.
And the parable has, like the former ones,
its various references to various counter-
workings of the Evil One against the
grace of God. Its two principal references
are, (1) to the whole history of the world
from beginning to end ; the coming of sin
into the world by the malice of the devil, —
the mixed state of mankind, notwithstand-
ing the development of God's purposes by
the dispensations of grace,— and the final
separation of the good and evil at the end.
The very declaration 'the harvest is the
end of the world' suggests the original
sowing as the beginning of it. Tet this
sowing is not in the fact, as in the parable,
one only, but repeated again and again.
In the parable the Lord gathers as it
were the whole human race into one life-
time, as they will be gathered in one harvest,
and sets that forth as simultaneous, which
has been scattered over the ages of time.
But (2) as applying principally to the King*
dam of heaven, which lay in the future and
began with the Lord's incarnation, the para-
ble sets forth to us the universal sowing of
good seed by the Gospel : it sows no bad
seed : all this is done by the enemy, and
further we may not enquire. Soon, even
as soon as Acts v. in the History of the
Church, did the tares begin to appear ; and
in remarkable* coincidence with the wheat
bringing forth fruit (see Acts iv. 32—37).
Again, see Acts xiii. 10, where Paul calls

Elymas by the very name, "son of the devil."
And ever since, the same has been the
case ; throughout the whole world, where
the Son of Man sows good seed, the Enemy
sows tares. And it is not the office, how-
ever much it may be the desire, of the ser-
vants of the householder, the labourers in
His field, to collect or root up these tares,
to put them out of the world literally, or
of the Church spiritually (save in some few
exceptional cases, such as that in Acts v.) ;
this is reserved for another time and for
other hands,— for the harvest, the end;
for the reapers, the angels. (3) It is also
most important to notice that, as the
Lord here gathers up ages into one season
of seed time and harvest, so He also
gathers up the various changes of human
character and shifting! of human will into
two distinct classes. We are not to sup-
pose that the wheat can never become
tares, or the tares wheat: this would be
to contradict the purpose of Him who
willeth not the death of a sinner, but
rather that he should be converted and
live; and this gracious purpose shines
through the command " let both grow to-
gether"— let time be given (as above)
for the leaven to work. As in the parable
of the sower, the various classes were the
concentrations of various dispositions, all
of which are frequently found in one and
the same individual, so here the line of
demarcation between wheat and tares, so
fixed and impassable at last, is during the
probation time, the time of growing to-
gether, not yet determined by Him who
will have all to be saved, and to come to
the knowledge of the truth. In the very
first example, that of our first parents, the
good seed degenerated, but their restora-
tion and renewal was implied in the pro-
mises made to them, and indeed in their
very punishment itself; and we their pro-
geny are by nature the children of wrath,
till renewed by the same grace. The
parable is delivered by the Lord as know-
ing all things, and describing by the final
results and gives no countenance what-
ever to predestinarian error. (4) The pa-

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102

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

• Gen. ill. 16.
John rlli. 44.
Acta xill. 10.
1 John lii. 8.

t Joel UI. 18.
Rer.ilT.15.

noh.xrilL7.
S Pet. U. 1, S.

▼ ob. 111. It.

Ber.xix.S0:

xx. 10.
w ch. Tiii. IS.

Ter.BO.
x Dao. xll. 8.

1 Cor. XT. 41,

48,68.

yPhlLUL7,8.

zTm.Iy.1.
B«T. UL 18.

good seed are the ■ children of the kingdom, but ■ the tares
are the * children of the wicked one ; S9 the enemy that
sowed them is the devil ; % the harvest is the end of the
world ; and the reapers are the angels. *° As therefore
the tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it
be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send
forth his angels, u and they shall gather out of his king-
dom all things that offend, and them- which do iniquity ;
43 ? and shall cast them into * a furnace of fire : w there
shall be D wailing and gnashing of teeth. tt x Then shall
the righteoup shine forth as' the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. Who hath ears [c to hear], let him hear.

44 [d Again,] the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure
hid in a field ; e the which when a man hath found, he hidelh,
and for joy thereof goeth and * selleth all that he hath, and
1 buyeth that field.

render, sons. * render, the.

render, the wailing and the gnashing. c omit,

omit. e render, which a man found, and hid.

rable has an historical importance, having'
been mnch in the mouths and writings
of the Donatists, who, maintaining that
the Church is a perfectly holy congrega-
tion, denied the applicability or this Scrip-
ture to convict them of error, seeing that
it is spoken not of the Church, but of the
world : missing the deeper truth which
would have led them to see that, after all,
the world is the Church, only overrun by
these very tares. the good seed,

(these) are the ions strikingly sets forth
again the identity of the seed, in its
growth, with those who are the plants :
see above on ver. 19. the sou of

the kingdom] not in the same sense as
in ch. viii. 12, — sons there, by covenant
and external privilege: here,— by the ef-
fectual grace of adoption : the kingdom,
there, in mere paradigm, on this imperfect
earth : here, in its true accomplishment,
in the new heavens and earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness : but in their state
among the tares, waiting for the mani-
festation of the sons of Qod. 41.
things that offend] generally understood
of those men who give cause of offence,
tempters and hinderers of others: it is
better to understand it rather of things,
as well as men, who are afterwards de-
' signated. 43.1 shall shine, literally,
shine out (their light here being enfeebled
and obscured), as the sun from a cloud.
of their Father, answering to the sons,

ver. 88. This sublime announcement is over
and above the interpretation of the parable.
44.] Fifth parable. The hidden
treasure. Peculiar to Matthew. This
and the following parable are closely con-
nected, and refer to two distinct classes
of persons who become possessed of the
treasure of the Gospel. Notice that these,
as also the seventh and last, are spoken
not to the multitude, but to the disciples.
In this parable, a man, labouring
perchance for another, or by accident in
passing, finds a treasure which has been
hidden in a field; from joy at having found
it he goes, and selling all he has, buys the
field, thus (by the Jewish law) becoming
the possessor also of the treasure. Such
hiding of treasure is common even now,
and was much more common in the East
(see Jer. xli. 8 : Job iii. 21 : Prov. ii. 4).
This sets before us the case of a
man who unexpectedly, without earnest
seeking, finds, in some part of the outward
Church, the treasure of true faith and
hope and communion with Qod; and
having found this, for joy of it he becomes
possessor, not of the treasure without the
field (for that the case supposes impos-
sible), but of the field at all hazards, to
secure the treasure which is in it : i. e. he
possesses himself of the means of grace
provided in that branch of the Church,
where, to use a common expression, he
has "gotten his good:" he makes that

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39—50.

ST. MATTHEW.

103

46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant
man seeking goodly pearls : ** who, when he had found
"one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, aProv.u^.
and bought it. ^lHHL

*7 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net,
that was cast into the sea, and b gathered of every kind : bch.£di.i«.
48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat
down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad
away. *• So shall it be at the end of the world : the angels
shall come forth, and c sever the wicked from among the «<*. «▼.«!.
just, 60 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire : there

field his own. 45, 46.] Sixth pa-

yable. The pbabl of ©beat price.
In this parable our Lord sets before us,
that although in ordinary cases of finding
« the truth as it is in Jesus,' the buying of
the field is the necessary prelude to be-
coming duly and properly possessed of it;
ret there are cases, and those of a nobler
kind, where such condition is not neces-
sary. We have here a merchantman,—
one whose business it is, — on the March
for goodly pearls; i.e. a man who intel-
lectually and spiritually is a seeker of.
truth of the highest kind. " He whom
this pursuit occupies is a merchantman ;
i. e. one trained, as well as devoted, to
business. The search is therefore deter-
minate, discriminate, unremitting. This
case then corresponds to such Christians
only as from youth have been trained up
in the way which they should go. In
these alone can be the settled habits, the
effectual self-direction, the convergence to
one point of all the powers and tendencies
of the soul, which are indicated by the
illustration." (Knox's Remains, i. 460.)
But as the same writer goes on to observe,
even here there is a discovery, at a parti-
cular time. The person has been seeking,
and finding, goodly pearls; what is true,
honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good
report : but at last he finds one pearl of
great price — the efficacious principle of
inward and spiritual life. We hear of no
emotion, no great joy of heart, as before ;
but the same decision of conduct : he sells
all and buys it. Ho chooses vital Chris-
tianity, at whatever cost, for his portion.
But here is no field. The pearl is bought
pure — by itself. It is found, not unex-
pectedly in the course of outward ordi-
nances, with which therefore it would
become to the finder inseparably bound
up, — but by diligent search, spiritual and
immediate, in its highest and purest

form. Trench instances Nathanael and
the Samaritan woman as examples of the
finders without seeking: — Augustine, as
related in his Confessions (we might add
St. Paul, see Phil. iii. 7), of the diligent
seeker and finder. Compare with this
parable Prov. ii. 8 — 9X and to see what
kind of buying is not meant, Isa. lv. 1 :
ch. xxv. 9, 10. Also see Rev. iii. 18.

47—52.] Seventh pabablb. The
dbaw-ket. Peculiar to Matthew.
47.] The net spoken of is a drag, or draw-
net, drawn over the bottom of the water,
and permitting nothing to escape it. The
leading idea of this parable is the ultimate
separation of the holy and unholy in the
Church, with a view to the selection of
the former for the master's use. We may
notice that the fishermen are kept out of
view and never mentioned: the compari-
son not extending to them. A net is cast
into the sea and gathers of every kind (of
fish: not of things, as mud, weeds, Ac.,
as some suppose); when this is full, it
is drawn to shore, and the good collected
into vessels, while the bad (the legally un-
clean, those out of season, those putrid or
maimed) are cast away. This net is the
Ckurch gathering from the eea (a common
Scripture similitude for nations : see Rev.
xvii. 15: Isa. viii.7: Ps.lxv.7) of the world,
all kinds (see Rev. vii. 9); and when it
is full, it is drawn to the bank (the limit
of the ocean, as the end [literally, consum*
motion] is the limit of the world [literally,
age]), and the angels (not the same as the
fishers; for in the parable of the tares
the servants and reapers are clearly dis-
tinguished) shall gather out the wicked
from among the just, and cast them into
everlasting punishment. It is plain that
the comparison must not be strained be-
yond its limits, as our Lord shews us that
the earthly here gives but a mint outline
of the heavenly. Compare the mere " cast

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104

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII.

shall be ' wailing and gnashing of teeth. 51 [ff Jesus saith
unto them^\ Have ye understood all these things? They
say unto him, Yea[, * Lord]. 62 Then said he unto them,
Therefore every scribe which is * instructed unto the king-
dom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,
acant.vii.i8. which bringeth forth out of his treasure d things new and
old.
f render, the wailing and the gnashing.

£ omit. * omitted in some of the oldest authorities.

* literally, made a disciple : see ch. xxviii 19.

away " of the one, with the fearful anti-
type of w. 49, 60. 51, 58.] Solemn

CONCLUSION OP THE PARABLES. When

our Lord askB, 'Have ye understood all
these things?' and they answer, 'Yea,
[Lord,]' the reply must be taken as spoken
from their then standing -paint, from which
but little could be seen of that inner and
deeper meaning which the Holy Spirit has
since unfolded. And this circumstance
explains the following parabolic remark
of our Lord : that every scribe (they, in
their study of the Lord's sayings, answer-
ing to the then scribes in their study of
the Law) who is instructed (discipled),
enrolled as a disciple and taught as such,
is like an householder (the Great House-
holder being the Lord Himself, compare
ch. xxiv. 45) who puts forth from his store
new things and old ; i. e. ' ye yourselves,
scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven, in-
structed as ye shall fully be in the mean-
ing of these sayings, are (shall be) like
householders, from your own stores of
knowledge respecting them hereafter bring-
ing out not only your present understand-
ing of them, but ever new and deeper
meanings/ And this is true of every

scribe: Every real spiritually-learned scribe
of the Kingdom of Heaven is able, from
the increasing stores of his genuine experi-
mental knowledge of the word (not merely
from books or learning, or the Bible itself,
but out of his treasure), to bring forth
things new and old. The therefore

is an expression of consequence, but not a
strong one: answering nearly to our Well,
then. This is perhaps the fittest plape

to make a few general remarks on this
wonderful cycle of Parables. We observe,
(1) How naturally they are evolved from
the objects and associations surrounding
our Lord at the time (see on this the very
interesting section of Stanley, Sinai and
Palestine, ch. xiii. § 2, p. 420 ff., " On the
Parables"). He sat in a boat in the sea,
teaching the people who were on the land.
His eye wandered «ver the rich plain of

Gennesaret : — the field-paths, the stony
places, the neglected spots choked with
wild vegetation, the plots of rich and deep
soil, were all before him. The same imagery
prevails in the parable of the tares of the
field, and in that of the mustard seed ; and
the result of the tilling of the laud is asso-
ciated with the leaven in the lump. Then
He quits the sea-shore and enters the
house with the disciples. There the link
to the former parable is the exposition of
the tares of the field. From the working
of the land for 6eed to finding a treasure
in a field the transition is easy — from the
finding without seeking to seeking earnestly
and finding, easy again : from the seed to
the buried treasure, from the treasure to
the pearl, — the treasure of the deep, —
again simple and natural. The pearl re-
calls the sea ; the sea the fishermen with
their net; the mixed throng lining the
beach, the great day of separation on the
further bank of Time. (2) The seven
Parables compose, in their inner depth of
connexion, a great united whole, begin-
ning with the first sowing of the Church,
and ending with the consummation. We
must not, as Stier well remarks, seek, with
Bengel, &c, minutely to apportion the series
prophetically, to various historical periods :
those who have done so (see Trench,
p. 142, edn. 4) have shewn caprice and
inconsistency; and the parable, though
in its manifold depths the light of pro-
phecy sometimes glimmers, has for its
main object to teach, not to foretell. More
than a general outline, shewn by the pro-
minence of those points to which the re*
spective parables refer, in the successive
periods of the Church, we can hardly ex-
pect to find. But as much we unques-
tionably do find. The apostolic age was
(1) the greatest of all the seed times of
the Church : then (2) sprang up the tares,
heresies manifold, and the attempts to root
them out, almost as pernicious as the here-
sies themselves : nay, the so-called Church
Catholic was for ages employed in rooting

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51—55.

ST. MATTHEW.

105

58 And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished
these parables, he departed thence. ** c And when he was « *. u. a.
come into his own country, he taught them in their syna-
gogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said,
"Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty
works? 55fIs not this the carpenter's son? is not his'^Jj^g-
mother called Mary? and *his brethren, {ames, andBeh.xu.46.

up the wheat also. Notwithstanding this
(3) the little seed waxed onward — the
kingdoms of the earth came gradually in
— (4) the leaven was secretly penetrating
and assimilating. Then is it, (5) during
the period of dissensions, and sects, and
denominations, that here and there by
this man and that man the treasure shall
be found: then is it, (6) during the in-
crease of secular knowledge, and cultiva-
tion of the powers of the intellect, that
merchantmen shall seek goodly pearls up
and down the world, and many shall find,
each for himself, the Pearl of Price. And
thus we are carried on (7) through all the
ages during which the great net has been
gathering of every kind, to the solemn day
of inspection and separation, which will
conclude the present state.

63 — 58.] Teaching, and rejection,
at Nazabbth. Mark vi. 1—6. See Luke
iv. 16—29 and notes. 53, 64.] his

own country, viz. Nazareth. Perhaps the
proceedings of ch. viii 18— ix. 34 are to
be inserted between those two verses. In
Mark iv. 35, the stilling of the storm and
voyage to the* Gadarenes are bound to the
above parables by what appears a distinct
note of sequence : ' the same dixy, when the
even toot come,' The teaching was on the
Sabbath (Mark). 55. his brethren]

It is an enquiry of much interest and some
difficulty, who these were. After long
examination of the evidence on the sub-
ject, I believe that the truth will best
be attained by disencumbering the mind
in the first place of all £ priori considera-
tions, and traditions (which last are very
inconsistent and uncertain), and fixing
the attention on the simple testimony of
Scripture itself, I will trace " His bre-
thren," or "the brethren of the Lord,"
through the various mentions of them in
the N. T., and then state the result; placing
at the end of the note the principal tradi-
tions on the subject, and the difficulties
attending them. (1) The expression " Sis
brethren" occurs nine times in the Gospels,
and once in the Acts. Of these the three
first are in the narratives of the coming of
His mother and brethren to speak with
Him, Matt. xii. 46: Mark iii. 31: Luke

viii. 19 : the two next are the present pas*
sage and its || in Mark vi. 3, where they
are mentioned in connexion with His
mother and sisters ; the four others are in
John ii. 12; vii. 3, 5, 10; in the first
of which He and his mother and brethren
and disciples are related to have gone down
to Capernaum : and in the three last His
brethren are introduced as urging Him to
shew Himself to the world, and it is stated
that they did not believe on Him. Tho
last is in Acts i. 14, where we read that
the Apostles ' continued in prayer and sup-
plication with the women, and with Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his bre-
thren.' In another place, 1 Cor. ix. 5,
Paul mentions "the other Apostles, and
the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas,"
Such are all the places where the meaning
is undoubted, that persons called, and being
in some usual sense, brethren of the Lord,
are mentioned. (Besides these the Lord,
Himself uses the words "my brethren"
Matt, xxviii. 10; John xx. 17, but appa-
rently with a wider meaning, including at
least the eleven Apostles in the term, as He
does in Matt. xii. 49, and parallels.) Now I
would observe (a) that in all the mentions
of them in the Gospels, except those in John
vii., they are in connexion with His mo-
ther : the same being the case in Acts i. 14.
(b) That it is nowhere asserted or im-
plied that any of them were of the num-
ber of the Twelve ; but from John vii. 5,
following upon vi. 70 (by "after these
things" vii. 1), they are excluded from
that number, St. John would certainly not
have used the words "for neither did his
brethren believe on him," had any of them
believed on Him at that time (see this
substantiated in note there) : — and again
in Acts i. 14, by being mentioned after
the Apostles have been enumerated by
name, and after the mother of Jesus,
they are indicated at that time also to
have been separate from the twelve,
although, then certainly believing on
Him. (c) Their names, as stated hero
and in Mark vi. 3, were Jacob (James),
Joseph, (or Joses), Simon, and Judas,
all of them among the commonest of Jew-
ish names. Of Joseph (or Joses ;— cer-

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106

ST. MATTHEW.

XIII. 56—58.

k Jo&es, and Simon, and Judas ? 56 And his sisters, are
they not all with us ? Whence then hath this man all
hch.xi.t. these things ? 67 And they h were offended l in him. But
k read, Joseph : *om<y MSS. fcu>e John. * render, at.

tainly not the Joseph Barnabas Justus of
Acts i. 23: see ib. ver. 21) and Simon
(not Simon CanaxuBus or Zelotes: see
' above) we know from /Scripture nothing.
Of the two others we have the following
traces — (d) Jacob (James) appears in the
apostolic narrative as the LortPs brother,
Gal. i. 19 : he is there called an apostle.
This however determines nothing as to
his having been among the Twelve (which
is a very different matter) ; for Paul and
Barnabas are called apostles, Acts xiv.
(4) 14, and Paul always calls himself such.
See also Rom. xvi. 7 ; 1 Thess. ii. 7 com-
pared with i. 1. That he is identical with
the James of Gal. ii. 9, whom Panl men-
tions with Cephas and John as having
given him and Barnabas the right hand
of fellowship, fourteen years after the
visit in ch. i. 19, does not appear for
certain, but has been pretty generally
assumed. (See this whole subject dis-
cussed in the Introduction to the Epistle of
James.) (e) The Jude who has left an
epistle, and was brother of James, not only
does not call himself an apostle, ver. 1 (as
neither does James, nor indeed John him-
self, so that this cannot be urged), but in
ver. 17 (see note there) seems to draw
a distinction between himself and the
Apostles. Whether this indicates that the
James and Jude, the authors of the Epis-
tles, were two of these brethren of the
Lord, is uncertain ; but it may at least be
mentioned in the course of our enquiry.
I shall now state the result of that
enquiry, which has been based on Scrip-
ture testimony only. (1) That there were
four persons known as "Sis brethren," or
•4 the brethren of the Lord," not of thb
number op thb twelte. (2) That these
persons are found in all places (with the
above exception) where their names occur
in the Gospels, in immediate connexion with
Maty, the mother of the Lord. [It is a
strange phenomenon in argument, that it
should have been maintained by an ortho-
dox writer, that my inference from this
proves too much, because Joseph is here
introduced as His father : as if a mistake
of the Jews with regard to a supernatural
fact, which they could not know, inva-
lidated their cognizance of a natural fact
which they knew full well.] (8) That not
a word is any where dropped to prevent
us from inferring that these brethren were
His relations in the same literal sense as

we know His mother to have been; but
that His own saying, where He distin-
guishes His relations according to the flesh
from His disciples (ch. xii. 50 and parallels),
seems to sanction that inference. (4) That
nothing is said from which it can be in-
ferred whether Joseph had been married
before he appears in the Gospel history; —
or again, whether these brethren were,
according to the flesh, older or younger
than our Lord. (5) That the silence of
the Scripture narrative leaves it free for
Christians to believe these to have been
real (younger) brethren and sisters of our
Lord, without incurring any imputation
of unsoundness of belief as to His miracu-
lous conception. That such an imputation
has been cast, is no credit to the logical
correctness of those who have made it,
who set down that, because this view has
been taken by impugners of the great
Truth just mentioned, therefore it eventu-
ally leads, or may fairly be used towards
the denial of it ; for no attempt is made to
shew its connexion with such a conclu-
sion. The fact is, that the two matters,
'the miraculous conception of the Lord
Jesus by the Holy Ghost, and the sub-
sequent virginity of His mother, are es-
sentially AND ENTIRELY DISTINCT ; Bee
note on Matt. i. 25 : see also respecting a
supposed difficulty attending this view,
note on John xix. 27. (II) I will now
state the principal traditionary views re-
specting the brethren of the Lord. (1)
That they were all sons of Alphams (or
Clopas) and Mary the sister of the mother
of our Lord} and so cousins of Jesus,
and called agreeably to Jewish usage Hie
brothers. This is the view taken in a

remarkable fragment of Papias, adopted
by Jerome, and very generally received in
ancient and modern times. But it seems
to me that a comparison of the Scripture
testimonies cited above will prove it un-
tenable. One at least of the sons of this
AlphsBus was an apostle, of the number of
the twelve, viz. James the son of Alplueus
(see all the lists, on ch. x. 3) ; which (see
above) would exclude him from the num-
ber of the brethren of the Lord. But even
if one of the four could be thus detached
(which, from John vii. 5, I cannot believe),
it is generally assumed that "Judas of
Jamee" (so in the Greek) (see Luke's two
lists as above) is Jude the brother of
James ; and if so, this would be another

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XIV. 1, 2.

ST. MATTHEW.

107

Jesus said unto them, * A prophet is not without honour, ! *££•£•£
save in his own country, and in his own house. 68 And he
did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
XIV. l At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the
fame of Jesus, 2 and said unto his servants, This is John
the Baptist; mhe is risen from the dead; and therefore

m render, he himsel£

is with do such arrangements or limitations.
58.] did not ; could not do, Mark
vi. 5, where see note. On the identity, or
not, of this preaching at Nazareth with
that related mnch earlier by Luke iv. 16
sq., see note there.

Chap. XIV. 1 — 18.] Herod heabs op

THE FAME OP JESUS. PaBENTHETICAL
ACCOUNT OP THE DEATH OP JOHN THE

Baptist. Mark vi. 14—29. Lnke ix. 7
— 9, who does not relate the death of John.
L] This Herod was Herod Antipas,
son of Herod the Great, hy Malthace, a Sa-
maritan woman, — and own brother of Arche-
laus. The portion of the kingdom allotted
to him by the second will of his father (in
the first he was left as king) was the
tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraa (Jos. Antt.
xvii. 8. 1). He married the daughter of
the Arabian king Aretas; but having
during a visit to his half-brother Herod
Philip (not the tetrarch of that name^but
another son of Herod the Great, disin-

son of Alphams, and another subtraction
from the number who did not believe on
Him. Again Matthew (see note on Matt,
ix. 9), if identical with Levi (Mark ii. 14),
was another son of Alphams ; which
would make a fifth brother, and leave
therefore, out of five, three believing on
Him at the time when it was said, " neither
did hie brethren believe on Him," This
view besides labours under the difficulty
arising from these brethren accompanying
and being found in connexion with Mary
the mother of our Lord, whereas through-
out that time their own mother woe living.
The way in which the assertors of this
view explain John vii. 5, is either by sup-
posing that all the brethren are not there
implied, or that all are not here mentioned ;
both suppositions, it seems to me, very
unlikely (compare e. g. John's minute
accuracy where an exception was to be
made, ch. vi. 23, 24). (2) That they were
children of Joseph by a former marriage
for even by a later one with Mary wife of
Clopas, to raise up seed to his dead brother,
— as Clopas is said to have been : but this
needs no refutation). This view was taken
by several early Fathers, and mentioned
by Origen, who says respecting it, " those
who maintain this, wish to uphold the per*
petual virginity of Mary" This however,
while by no means impossible, and in some
respects agreeing with the apparent posi-
tion of these brothers as older (according
to the flesh) than the Lord (John vii. 3),
has no countenance whatever in Scripture,
either in their being called sons of any
other woman, or in any distinct mention
of Joseph as their father, which surely in
this case would be required. (Ill) On
the a priori considerations which have
influenced opinions on this matter, see note
on Matt. i. • 25 j and on the traditional
literature, see the references given in my
Greek Testament. Neander brings out
the importance of the view which I have
above, under (I), endeavoured to justify,
as shewing that the account of the miracu-
lous conception is not mythical, in which
case all would have been arranged to suit
the views of virginity from which it had
arisen,— but strictly historical, found as it

herited by his lather) become enamoured
of his wife Herodias, he prevailed on her
to leave her husband, and live with him.
(See below, on ver. 4.) This step, accom-
panied as it was with a stipulation of
putting away the daughter of Aretas,
involved him in a war with his father-in-
law, which however did not break oat till
a year before the death of Tiberius (a.d.
37, v.c. 790), and in which he was totally
defeated and his army destroyed by Aretas ;
a divine vengeance, according to the Jews
as reported by Josephus, for the death of
John the Baptist. He and Herodias after-
wards went to Rome at the beginning of
Caligula's reign, to complain of the assump-
tion of the title of king by Agrippa his
nephew, son of Aristobulusj but Caligula
having heard the claims of both, banished
Antipas and Herodias to Lyons in Gaul,
whence he was afterwards removed to
Spain, and there died. The following

events apparently took place at Machnrus,
a frontier fortress bet ween Peroa and
Arabia : see below on ver. 10." It was

the fame of the preaching^ and miracles of
the Twelve, on their mission, of which
Herod heard, — probably in conjunction
with the works of Christ: see parallel

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108

ST. MATTHEW.

XIV.

11 mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 8 For
Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put
him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother ° {Philip)'* wife.

• ijTjwiii.wi* For John said unto him, a It is not lawful for thee to
have her. 5 And when he would have put him to death,

bch.xxi.s8. he feared the multitude, b because they counted him as a
prophet. fl But when Herod's birthday was kept, the
daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased
Herod. 7 Whereupon he "promised with an oath to give
her whatsoever she would ask. 8 And she, being before
instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's
head in a P charger. 9 And the king was sorry : never-
theless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him
at meat, he commanded it to be given her. 10 And he

11 or, the powers work mightily in him.
0 omit. P %. e, a large dish.

place in Mark. 2.] he himself is

emphatic ; equivalent in English to "it is
he and no other, that" ... In Luke
iz. 7 it is said that Herod was perplexed
because it was said of some that John was
risen from the dead. There is no incon-
sistency in these accounts: the report
originated with others : hut if Herod was
perplexed concerning it, he, in the terrors
of a guilty conscience; doubtless gave ut-
terance to these words himself. There is
no evidence that Herod was a Sadducee,
or a disbeliever in the resurrection as
then held by the Pharisees. See also
note on Mark vih\ 14. There is no

allusion here to the transmigration of
souls, but to the veritable bodily resur-
rection, and supposed greater power ac-
quired by having passed through death.
This is an incidental confirmation of John
x. 41, where we read that John wrought
no miracle while living. 4.] The

marriage was unlawful for these three
reasons : (1) The former husband of He-
rodias, Philip, was still living. This is
expressly asserted by Josephus. (2) The
former wife of Antipas was still living,
and fled to her father Aretes on hearing of
his intention to marry Herodias. (3) An-
tipas and Herodias were already related
to one another within the forbidden degrees
of consanguinity. For she was daughter
of Aristobulus, the brother of Antipas and
Philip. 5.] This verse is further

expanded in Mark vi. 20, which see.
Josephus, not being aware of any other
grounds for his imprisonment, alleges
purely political ones, that Herod was afraid

lest John's power of persuading the people
might be turned to seditious purposes.
6. birthday] Some hold that the word here
means the feast of Herod's accession : but
they give no proof that it ever had such a
meaning. A great feast was given to the no-
bility of Galilee, Mark vi. 21. The damsel's
name was Salome, daughter of Herodias by
her former husband Philip. She afterwards
married her uncle Philip, tetrarch of Itursea
and Trachonitis : and he dying childless, she
became the wife of her cousin Aristobulus
son of Herod, king of Chalcis, by whom
she had three sons, Herod, Agrippa, and
Aristobulus. The dance was probably

a pantomimic dance. 9.] the king

was a title which Herod never properly
possessed. Subsequently to this event,
Herodias prevailed on him to go to Rome
to get the title, which had been granted
to his nephew Agrippa. He was opposed
by the emissaries of Agrippa, and was
exiled to Lugdunum. Herod was grieved,
because he heard John gladly (Mark vi. 20),
and from policy did not wish to put him
to death on so slight a cause. This is not
inconsistent with his wishing to put him to
death : his estimate of John was wavering
and undecided, and he was annoyed at the
decision being taken out of his hands by a
demand, compliance with which would be
irrevocable. 10.J It appears from the

damsel's expression give me here, and this
verse, that the feast was held either at
Machserus or at no great distance from it.
Antipas had a palace near ; but he was not
there on account of the war with Aretas, —
see above.

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3—19.

ST. MATTHEW.

109

sent, and beheaded John in the prison. n And his head
was brought in a * charger, and given to the damsel : and
she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came,
and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told
Jesus.

13 c^vYTien Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship cch.x.M: xjl
into a desert place apart : and when the people had heard
thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities, 14 And
Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and dwasdeh.ix.a«.
moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their
sick. 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to
him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now
past y send the multitude away, that they may go into the
villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said
unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
W And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves,
and two fishes. 18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the
grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and
looking up to heaven, *he blessed, and brake, and gaveech.xv.w
* *. e. a large dish.

13 — 21/] Feeding op the five thou-
sand. Mark vi. 30 — 44. Luke ix. 10— 17.
John vi. 1 — 13, where also see notes.
13.] There is some difficulty here in con-
ceiving how the narration is to proceed
continuously. The death of the Baptist is
evidently retrospectively and parentheti-
cally inserted; and yet the retirement of
our Lord in this verse seems to be the im-
mediate consequence of his hearing of that
occurrence. But this may well have been
so : for (1) the disciples of John would be
some days in bringing the news from Ma-
chaerus to Capernaum, and the report
mentioned in ver. 1 might reach Herod
meantime; (2) the expression with which
that report is introduced, "At that time"
extends it over a considerable space of
time; and (3) the message which the
disciples of John brought to our Lord
might have included both particulars, the
death of their Master, and the saying of
Herod respecting Himself. He went

across the lake (John vi. 1) into a desert
place belonging to the city called Beth-
salda (Luke ix. 10). His retirement (Luke,
ibid., and Mark vi. 30) was connected also
with the return of the Twelve from their
mission: compare the full and affecting
account of the whole transaction in Mark
vi. 30—35. 14.] went forth, from

His place of retirement. 15.1 This

evening was the first evening, the decline
of the day, about 3 p.m. ; the evening, in
ver. 23, after the miracle, was lute in the
night. the time is now past] i. e. the

time of the day is now late.
16, 17.] give ye them to eat, which is
common to the three first Evangelists, is
considerably expanded in the more de-
tailed account of John, ver. 3—7 ; it was
Andrew who spoke in ver. 17, and the five
loaves and two fishes were brought by a
lad: John vi. 8, 9. They were barley
loaves and (sal€)fish; ibid. And we have
(perhaps, but see note there) the vast
concourse accounted for in John by the
fact that the Passover was at hand, and
so they were collected on their journey to
Jerusalem. See a very similar mira-

cle in 2 Kings iv. 42 — 44 ; only then there
were twenty barley loaves and an hundred
men. See also Numbers xi. 21, 22.
19. blessed] St. Lake supplies "Mem," i.e.
the loaves and fishes : St. John has for it
gave thanks. Both are one. The thanks
to heaven is the blessing on the meat. This
'miracle was one of symbolic meaning for
the Twelve, who had iust returned from
their mission, as pointing to the "freely
ye received, freely give" of ch. x. 8 in a
higher sense than they then could have

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110 ST. MATTHEW. XIV. 20—36.

the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multi-
tude. 2° And they did all eat, and were filled : and they
took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets
full. 2l And they that had eaten were about five thousand
men, beside women and children.

22 And straightway r Jesus constrained his disciples to
get into B a ship, and to go before him unto the other side,
while he sent the multitudes away. ^ And when he had
sent the multitudes away, he went up into x a mountain
apart to pray : and when the evening was come, he was
there alone. 2* But the ship was now in the midst of the
sea, tossed with waves : for the wind was contrary. 25 And
in the fourth watch of the night u Jesus went unto them,
walking on the sea. 20 And when the disciples saw him
fjobix.8. f walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is v a
spirit ; and they cried out for fear. 2? But straightway
w Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer ; it is I ;
be not afraid. M And Peter answered him and said, Lord,
if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And

r read, he. B render, the.

* render, the. u read, he.

T render, an apparition : literally, a phantasm. w or, he.

understood it :— but see the symbolic im- bat too anxious to second this wish of the
port of the miracle treated in the notes-to multitude ; and their dismissal was there-
John vi. Meyer well remarks, that fore an important step towards the other,
the process of the miracle is thus to be 22.] Mark adds "toBethsatda" John
conceived:— the Lord blessed, and gave "to Capernaum:" for the Bethsa'ida, the
the loaves and fishes to the disciples, as city of Philip and Andrew and Peter, was
they were ; and then, during their distri- distinct from Bethsalda Julias, in whose
button of them, the miraculous increase neighbourhood the miracle took place, —
took place, so that they broke and distri- and in the direction of Capernaum,
bated enough for all. The cophinus 25.] The fourth watch according to the
(which is the word here rendered basket) Roman calculation, which was by this
was the usual accompaniment of the Jew : time common among the Jews (who thetn-
see quotation from Juvenal in my Gr. selves divided the night into three parts or
Test. Keland supposes that the basket watches). This would be,— near the vernal
was to carry their own meats on a journey, equinox, which this was,— between three
for fear of pollution by eating those of the and six in the morning. The words walk>
Gentiles. 21.] beside women and ing on the sea are common to the three
children is peculiar to Matt., although Evangelists, and can have no other mean-
this might have been inferred from men ing here, than that the Lord walked
being mentioned in the other three Evan- bodily on the surface of the water. In
gelists. See note on John vi. 10. Job. ix. 8 we read of the Almighty, " Which
22—23.] Jesus walks on thb sea. alone spreadeth out the heavens, and
Mark vi. 45—52. (Luke omits this in- treadeth upon the waves of the sea.**
cident.) John vi. 16 — 21. The conviction Mark adds " and would have passed by
of the people after the foregoing miracle them :" John, " and drawing nigh unto the
was, that Jesus was the Messiah ; and ship." See notes on John. 28.1 This
their disposition, to take Him by force, narrative respecting Peter is peculiar to
and make Him a king. See John vi. 14, Matthew. It is in very strict accordance
15. For this reason he constrained His with his warm and confident character,
disciples to leave Him, because they were and lias been called almost a ' rehearsal' of

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XV. 1—3. ST. MATTHEW. Ill

he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of
the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 3° But
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid ; and be-
ginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And
immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught
him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt ? 3a And when they were come into the
ship, the wind ceased. & Then they that were in the ship
came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the
Son of God.

84 And when they were gone over, they came into the
land of Gennesaret. ^ And when the men of that place
had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country
round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased ;
36 and besought him that they might only touch the hem
of his garment : and * as many as touched were made per- * Sj^J^t,.
fectly whole.

XV. ] Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which
were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples trans-
gress athe tradition of the elders? for they wash not their » coi.il b.
hands when they eat bread. 3 But he answered and
said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the COmmand-
his denial afterwards. It contains one of see note on ch. ix. 20.
the most pointed and striking revelations Chap. XV. 1—20.] Discourse con-
wbich we have of the nature and analogy cebning eating- with unwashed
of faith; and a notable example of the hands. Mark vii. 1—23. From Mark
power of the higher spiritual state of man it appears that these Scribes and Pharisees
over the inferior laws of matter, so often had come expressly from Jerusalem to
brought forward by our Lord. See ch. watch our Lord : most probably after that
xvii. 20; xxi. 21. 88.] John (vi. 21) Passover which was nigh at the time of

adds " and immediately the ship woe at feeding the five thousand, John vi. 4.
the land whither they went:" — see note 2.] The Jews attached more importance
there. 83.] These persons were pro- to the traditionary exposition than to the

bably the crew of the ship, and distinct Scripture text itself. They compared the
from the disciples. On Bon of God, see written word to water; the traditionary
ch. iv. 3. It is the first time that 'our exposition to the wine which must be
Lord is called so by men in the three mingled with it. The duty of washing

first Gospels. See ch. iii. 17 ; iv. 8 ; viii. before meat is not inculcated in the law,
29 : and John i. 34, 60. This feeling but only in the traditions of the Scribes.
of amazement and reverence pervaded the So rigidly did the Jews observe it, that
disciples also : see the strong expressions Rabbi Akiba, being imprisoned, and having
of Mark vi. 52. water scarcely sufficient to sustain life

84—86.] Mark vi. 53 — 56. Oennesar or given him, preferred dying of thirst to
Gennesaret, a district from which the lake eating without washing his hands,
was also occasionally so called, extended The " elders " here, as in fieb. xi. 2, must
along its western shore. Josephus gives a be taken to mean the ancients. See ref.
glowing description of the beauty and fer- Heb. 3. ye alio] The also implies

tilitv of this plain, Jewish Wars, iii. 10. 7. that there was a transgression also on their
At its northern end was Capernaum, near ^art— acknowledging . that on the part of
which our Lord landed, as would appear the disciples. the commandment of

from John vi. 24, 25. 36.] On hem, God] A remarkable testimony from onr

Digitized by VjOOQIC

lia ST. MATTHEW. XV.

ment of God x by your tradition ? 4 For God commanded,
iskt^iS: ^y^^' b Honour thy father and mother : and, c He that
»?vK5h."'i. cureeth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But
c Kxod. xxi. 17. ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother,
vi?y™. "x. j It ** a 9%ft> ty whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
»:xxx.i7. ea9Ui honouf nof; fa father or his mother , he shall be free.
Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none
effect * by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias
diiA.xxix. is. prophesy of you, saying, 8dThis people [*draweth nigh
"• unto me with their mouthy and\ honoureth me with their

lips ; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they
eiMuxxu is. do worship me, • teaching for doctrines the commandments
sj. Tit. 1. 14. 0f men# 10 And he called the multitude, and said unto
!1&mxil5: them, Hear, and understand: llfNot that which goeth
IVm^.i. into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out
of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12 Then came his dis-
ciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees
were offended, after they heard this saying? 13 But he
'fcSuiu. answered an<l sa^ g Every plant, which my heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. l4t Let them

x render, for the sake of.

7 render, That wherein thou mightest have been benefited by me,
is a gift [to God] : [he is free,'] and shall not honour his father or his
mother. * render, for the sake of. * omit.

Lord to the divine origin of the Mosaic ment of the mere nominal Israel, and the

law : not merely of the Decalogue, as such, salvation of the true Israel of God. And,

for the second command quoted is not in as so often in the prophetic word, its

the Decalogue, and it is to be observed threats and promises are for all times of

that where the text has God commanded, the Church ; — the particular event then

Mark (vii. 10) has Moses said. 5.] foretold being but one fulfilment of those

Lightfoot on this verse shews that the ex- deeper and more general declarations of

predion cited by our Lord did not always God, which shall be ever having their sue-

bind the utterer to consecrate his pro- cessive illustrations in His dealings with

perty to religious uses, but was by its men. 10.] "He leaves the Scribes

mere utterance sufficient to absolve him and Pharisees, as incorrigible, and already

from the duty of caring for his parents : silenced and put to shame, and turns His

see further on the word Corban in Mark discourse to the multitude as more worthy

vii. 11. The construction of this and the of being addressed." Euthymius.

following verse is : Bnt ye say, Whosoever 12.] This took place after our Lord had

shall say to his father or mother, That entered the house and was apart from the

from which thou mightest have been multitude: see Mark ver. 17. thii

benefited by me, is an offering (conse- (literally the) saying] the saying addressed

crated to God; see above) .... (under- to the multitude in ver. 11. 18.] The

stand, is free). [And] such an one will plant is the teaching of the Pharisees, alto-

certainly not honour his [father or his gcther of human, and not of divine plant-

mother]. Of course the latter member ing. That this is so, is clear by " lei them

of the sentence is our Lord's saying, not alone " following, and by the analogy of

that of the Pharisees. 8.] The por- our Lord's parabolic symbolism, in which

tion of Isaiah from which this citation is seed, plant, &c, are compared to doctrine,

made (ch. xxiv. — xxxv.) sets forth, in alter- which however in its growth becomes iden-

nate threatenings and promises, the punish- titled with, and impersonated by, its reci-

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4—22.

ST. MATTHEW.

113

alone: hthey be blind leaders of the blind. And if the'jfttffcjf-

blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch, w Then &£££

answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this

parable. 16 And * Jesus said, 'Are ye also yet without ich.r*i.©.

understanding ? *7 Do not ye yet understand, that k what- kicor.Ti.is.

soever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and

is cast out into the c draught ? 18 But l those things which i Jmstiu.*.

proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and

they defile the man. 19mFor out of the heart proceed mTuJW

evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false KTzvul1*

witness, blasphemies : 20 these are the things which defile

a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a

man.

21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the d coasts
of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, 6# woman of Canaan
came out of the same coasts, and cried ' unto him, saying,
Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my

* read, he. ° *. e. the sink, or sewer. d render, parts.
6 render, a Canaanitish woman of those districts came out.

* omit.

pients and disseminators. See this illus-
trated in notes on the parable of the sower,
ch. xiii. On this verse see John xv. 1, 2.
15.] The saying in ver. 11, which
is clearly the subject of the question, was
not strictly a parable, but a plain declara-
tion; so that either Peter took it for a
parable,— or the word must be taken in
its wider sense of ' an hard saying/ Stier
thinks that their questioning as to the
meaning of parables in ch. xiii. had habi-
tuated them to asking for explanations in
this form. 16.] The saying in ver. 11

was spoken for the multitude, who were
exhorted " Hear and understand .•" much
more then ought the disciples to have un-
derstood it. 17.1 " The mouth, throngh
which, as Plato said, mortal things go in,
but immortal things go out. For there
go in meats and drinks, the perishable
food of the perishable body : but there go
forth words, the immortal laws of the im-
mortal soul, by which the life of the reason
is directed." Philo.

81— 28.] The Canaanitish woman.
Mark vii. 24—30 : omitted by Luke. It
is not quite clear whether our Lord actu-
ally passed the frontier into the land of
the heathen, or merely was on the frontier.
The usage of €Hnto the parts" in Matthew
favours the former supposition : see ch. ii.
22 ; xvi. 13 ; also for coasts, ch. ii. 16 ; ir.
13 j viii. 34. Exod. xvi. 35, 'to the bor-
Voi. I.

ders of Canaan,' has been quoted as sup-
porting the other view ,* but the usage of
our Evangelist himself seems to carry
greater weight. And the question is not
one of importance; for our Lord did not
go to teach or to heal, but, as it would
appear, to avoid the present indignation of
the Pharisees. Mark's account cer-

tainly implies that the woman was in the
same place where our Lord was wishing
to be hid, and could not. 22. a

Canaanitish woman of those districts
came out] i. e. from her house, or town, or
village. They were going by the way, see
ver. 28. The inhabitants of these parts
are called Canaanites, Num. xiii. 29 ; Judg.
i. 80, 82, 38 ; Exod. vi. 15 ; Josh. v. 1. St.
Mark calls her " a Greek," i. e. a heathen
by religion, and "a Si/ro- Phoenician by
nation :" and describes her only as having
come to our Lord in the house. But by
the account in our text, she had been
crying after the Lord and the disciples by
the way previously; and St. Mark's account
must be understood to begin at ver. 25.
From Mark iii. 8, Luke vi. 17, we learn
that the fame of our Lord had been spread
in these parts, and multitudes from thence
had come to Him for healing. It was not
this woman's dwelling-place, but her de-
scent, which placed the bar between her
and our Lord's ministrations. The expres-
sion " Son of David " shews her acquaint-
I

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114

ST. MATTHEW.

XV.

II ch. x. 5, 6.
AetaM.fS:
sill. 4B.

Och.TU.fl.
PhO.IU.fl.

P IHL XXXV. ft,

6. oh.xi.5.

daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. ** But he
answered her not a word. And his disciples came and
besought him, saying. Send her away ; for she crieth after
us. ** But he answered and said, "lam not sent but unto
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 2° Then came she
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. M But he
answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it to ° 9 dogs. 27 And she said, Truth,
Lord : ^yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from * their
masters' table. ^ Then Jesus answered and said unto her,
O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very
hour. 29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh
unto the sea of Galilee ; and went up into k a mountain,
and sat down there. 80 p And great multitudes came unto

9 render, the dogs. * render, for even.

* render, for perspicuity, the table of their masters.
* render, the.

ance with Jewish expressions and expecta-
tions; but the whole narrative is against
the supposition, that she may have been
a proselyte of the gate. 83.] The

reason alleged by the disciples must be
coupled with our Lord's unwillingness to
be known, stated by St. Mark (vii. 24),
and means, 'she will draw the atten-
tion of all upon us/ Send her away
does not necessarily imply granting her
request, nor the contrary; but simply
dismiss her, leaving the method to our
Lord Himself. 84.] See ch. x. 5.

Such was the purpose of our Lord's per-
sonal ministry; yet even that was occa-
sionally broken by such incidents as this.
Hie 'fountain sealed' sometimes broke its
banks, in token of the rich flood o£ grace
which should follow. See Bom. xv. 8.
86.1 came she, i. e. into the house
where our Lord was. See Mark vii. 24.
86. dog*] literally, little dogs.
No contempt is indicated bv the dimi-
nutive, still less any allusion to the
daughter of the woman : the word is com-
monly used of tame dogs, as diminutives
frequently express familiarity.
87.] The sense of the original is not given
by 'get ' in the E. V. The woman, in her
humility, accepts the appellation which
our Lord gives her, and grounds her plea
upon an inference from U. Her words
also have a reference to " let the* children
first be filled," expressed by Mark vii. 27.
It is, Tea, Lord: for even the dogs eat:
or, for the dogs too eat Our Lord, in the

use of the familiar diminutive, has ex-
pressed not the uncleanness of the dog so
much, as his attachment to and dependence
on the human family : she lays hold on
this favourable point and makes it her
own, ' If we are dogs, then may we fare
as such ; — be fed with the crumbs of Thy
mercy.' She was, as it were, under the
edge of the table— close on the confines of
Israel's feast. Some say that the crumbs
are the pieces of bread on which the hands
were wiped ; but the " which fall " looks
more like accidental falling, and the Greek
word better expresses minute crumbs.
88.] In Mark, " Ibr this saying,
go thy way" The greatness of the
woman's faith consisted in this, that in
spite of all discouragements she continued
her plea; and not only so, but accepting
and laying to her account all adverse cir-
cumstances, she out of them made reasons
for urging her request. St. Mark gives
the additional circumstance, that on re-
turning to her house she found the devil
gone out, and her daughter lying on the
bed.

89—39.] Healing by the Ska of
Gaxii.bb. Peculiar to Matthew (see Mark
vii. 31—87). Feeding op the four
thousand. Mark viii. 1 — 10.
89.] the mountain is the high land on
the coast of the lake, not any particular
mountain. From this account it is uncer-
tain to which side of the lake our Lord
came ; from Mark vii. 31 we learn that
it was to the eastern side, through the

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£3—36.

ST. MATTHEW.

115

him, haying with them those that were lame, blind, dumb,
maimed; and many others, and cast them down at Jesus'
feet ; and he healed them : 31 insomuch that the multitude
wondered^ when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed
to be whole, the lame to walk; and the blind to see : and
they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said; I
have compassion on the multitude, because they continue
with me now three days; and have nothing to eat : and I
1 will not send them away fasting; lest they faint in the
way. 33 q And his disciples say unto him, Whence should ««»■■■ i*.
we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great
a multitude ? &* And Jesus saith unto them, How many
loaves have ye ? And they said, Seven; and a few little
fishes. S6 And he commanded the multitude to sit down
on the ground. 36 And rhe took the seven loaves and the*<* *»*-»-
fishes, and 'gave thanks, and brake them; and gave to his • LSffiiii W

1 render, am not willing to.

midst of the coasts of DecapoUs.
SO.] The maimed are properly persons
maimed in the hands. The word is also
sometimes used of the feet. The meaning
need not be, that a wanting member was
supplied to these persons ; but that a de-
bility, snch as that arising from paralysis
or wound, was healed. east them

down, not in neglect, bat from haste and
rivalry. 31.] St. Mark (vii. 82—37)

gives an instance of dumb speaking,
the God of Israel] Perhaps this last word
u added as an expression of the joy of the
disciples themselves, who contrasted the
fulness and abundance of the acts of mercy
now before them, with the instance which
they had just seen of the difficulty with
which the faith of a Gentile had prevailed
to obtain help. 32.] The modern

German interpreters assume the identity
of this miracle with that narrated in ch. xiv.
14 ff. If this be so, then our Evangelists
must have invented the speech attributed to
our Lord in ch. zvi. 9, 10. But, as Ebrard
justly remarks, every circumstance which
could vary, does vary, in the two accounts.
The situation in the wilderness, the kind
of food at hand, the blessing and breaking,
and distributing by means of the disciples,
these are common to the two accounts, and
were likely to be so : but here the matter
is introduced by our Lord Himself with
an expression of pity for the multitudes
who had continued with Him three days :
here also the provision is greater, the num-

bers are less than on the former occasion.
But there is one small token of authenticity
which marks these two accounts as refer-
ring to two distinct events, even had we
not such direct testimony as that of ch.
xvL 9, 10. It is, that whereas the baskets
in which the fragments were collected on
the other occasion are called by all four
Evangelists cophini, those used for that
purpose after this miracle are in both Matt,
and Mark spyrides. And when our Lord
refers to the two miracles, the same dis-
tinction is observed i a particularity which
could not have arisen except as pointing to
a matter of met, that, whatever the dis-
tinction be, which is uncertain, different
kinds of baskets were used on the two
occasions. Perhaps the strangest reason
for supposing the two identical is an
imagined difficulty in the question of the
disciples, " Whence should we have " Ac,
so soon after the former miracle ; as if the
same slowness to believe and trust in
divine power were not repeatedly found
among men, and instanced in Scripture
itself ;— compare Exod. xvi. 13 with Num.
xi. 21, 22: and read in Exod. xvii. 1—7
the murmurings of the Israelites imme-
diately after their deliverance at the Bed
Sea. And even could we recognize this
as a difficulty, it is not necessaruy implied
in the text. Our Lord puts the matter to
them as a question, without the slightest
intimation of His intention to supply the
want supernaturaUy. They make answer

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116

ST. MATTHEW.

XV. 37—39.

» oh. xil. 88.
1 Cor. i. n.

disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 3? And they
did all eat, and were filled : and they took up of the broken
meat that was left seven baskets full. S8 And they that
did eat were four thousand men, beside women and chil-
dren. S9 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship,
and came into the coasts of m Magdala.

XVI. l The ■ Pharisees also with the Sadducees came,
and tempting" desired him that he would shew them a sign
from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, [n When
it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather : for the sky
is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to
day : for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites,
ye can discern the face of the sky ; but can ye not discern
the signs of the times ?] * A wicked and adulterous gene-

m read, Magadan.

11 omitted in some of the oldest authorities : see the similar place, ch. xii. 38.

in the same spirit, without venturing (as
indeed it would have been most unbecom-
ing in them to do, see John ii. 3, 4) to sug-
gest the working of a miracle.
37.] The basket here spoken of (epyris)
was large enough to contain a man's body,
as Paul was let down in one from the wall
of Damascus, Acts ix. 25. Greswell sup-
poses that they may have been used to sleep
in, during the stay in the desert.
39.] Of Magadan nothing is known.
Lightfoot shews Magdala to have been
only a Sabbath-day's journey from Cham-
nath Gadara on the Jordan, and on the
east side of the lake : but probably he is
mistaken, for most travellers place it about
three miles from Tiberias, on the west side
of the lake, where is now a village named
Madschel. Ealmanutha, mentioned by St.
Mark (viii. 10), seems to have been a vil-
lage in the neighbourhood.

Chap. XVI. 1—4.] Request fob a
sign from heaven. Mark viii. 11—13,
but much abridged. See also Luke xii. 54
and notes. 1.] See notes at ch. xii.

38. There is no ground for supposing
that this narrative refers to the same
event as that. What can be more natural
than that the adversaries of our Lord
should have met His miracles again and
again with this demand of a sign from
heaven? .For in the Jewish superstition
it was held that daemons and false gods
could give signs on earth, but only the
true God signs from heaven. In the
apocryphal Epistle of Jeremiah, ver. 67,
we read of the gods of the heathen,
"Neither can they shew signs in the

heavens among the heathen . . . ." And
for such a notion they alleged the bread
from heaven given by Moses (see John vi.
31), the staving of the sun by Joshua
(Josh. x. 12), the thunder and rain by
Samuel (1 Sam. xii. 17, compare Jer. xiv.
22), and Elijah (James v. 17, 18). And
thus we find that immediately after the
first miraculous feeding the same demand
was made, John vi. 80, and answered by
the declaration of our Lord that He was
the true bread from heaven. And what
more natural likewise, than that our Lord
should have uniformly met the demand by
the same answer, — the sign of Jonas, one
so calculated to baffle His enemies and
hereafter to fix the attention of His dis-
ciples ? Here however that answer is ac-
companied by other rebukes sufficiently
distinctive. It was now probably the

evening (see Mark viii. 10, " straightway "),
and our Lord was looking on the glow in
the west which suggested the remark in
ver. 2. On the practice of the Jews to
demand a sign, see 1 Cor. i. 22.
2.] Mark viii. 12 adds " He sighed deeply
in his spirit . . . ,M omitting however
the sentences following. The Jews were
much given to prognosticating the rains,
Ac of the coming season in each year.
8.] of the times, generally. The Jews
had been, and were, most blind to the
signs of the times, at all the great crises
of their history ; — and also particularly to
the times in which they were then living.
The sceptre had departed from Judah, the
lawgiver no longer came forth from
between his feet, the prophetic weeks of

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XVL 1—18. ST. MATTHEW. 117

ration seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be
given unto it, but the sign of [° the prophet] Jonas. And
he left them, and departed. 6 And when his disciples were
come to the other side, they P had forgotten to take bread.

6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7 And
they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we
have taken no bread. 8 Which when Jesus perceived, he
said [* unto them], O ye of little faith, why reason ye among
yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9 bDo ye bS^;L1J:
not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of
the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 c Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how och.xr.i4.
many baskets ye took up ? n How is it that ye do not
understand that I spake it not to you r concerning bread,
that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of
the Sadducees ? 12 Then understood they how that he bade
them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

13 When Jesus came into the » coasts of C&sarea Philippi,

0 omitted in the oldest MSS. P render, forgot.

* omit. r read, concerning bread ? But beware • . .

* render, parts : see eh. xv. 21.

Daniel were just at their end; yet they sects. In Mark we read, " and the
discerned none of these things. leaven of Herod** The Herodians were
4.] See note on ch. xii. 39. more a political than a religions sect, the
6—12. Wabnino against thb LBA- * dependants and supporters of the dynasty
ten of thb Phabisees and Sadducees. of Herod, for the most part Sadducees in
Mark viii. 18 — 21. 5.] This cross- religious sentiment. These, though di-
ing of the lake was not the voyage to rectly opposed to the Pharisees, were yet
Magadan mentioned in ch. xv. 39, for united with them in their persecution of
after the dialogue with the Pharisees, our Lord, see ch. xxii. 16: Mark ill. 6.
Mark adds (viii. 13), " entering into the And their leaven was the same, — hypo-
ship again he departed to the other side." crisy,— however it might he disguised by
they forgot to take broad; viz. external difference of sentiment. They
on their land journey further. Tliis is were all unbelievers at heart,
also to be understood in Mark (viii. 14), 8—12.] Not only had they forgotten
who states their having only one loaf in these miracles, but the weighty lesson
the ship, not to shew that they had for- given them in ch. xv. 16— 2a The re-
gotten to take bread before starting, but proof is much fuller in Mark, where see
as a reason why they should have provided note. On the two sorts of baskets
some on landing. 6. the leaven] See (cophini on the former occasion, spyrides
beginning of note on ch. xiii. 33. It is on the latter), see note, ch. xv. 86.
from the penetrating and diffusive power This voyage brought them to Bethsalda :
of leaven that the comparison, whether i. e. Bethsalda Julias, on the North-
for good or bad, is derived. In Luke Eastern side of the lake, see Mark viii. 22,
xii. 1, where the warning is given on a and the miracle there related,
wholly different occasion, the leaven is 18—90.] Confession of Peteb, Mark
explained to mean, hypocrisy i which is of viii. 27—30. Luke ix. 18 — 21. Here
all evil things the most penetrating and St. Luke rejoins the narrative common to
diffusive, and is the charge which our Lord the three Evangelists, having left it at
most frequently brings against the Jewish ch. xiv. 22. We here begin the second

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118

ST. MATTHEW.

XVI.

he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I
the Son of man am ? 14 And they said, d Some [* say that
thou art] John the Baptist : some, Elias ; and others, Je-
remias, or one of the prophets. 1B He saith unto them, But
whom say ye that I am ? 16 And Simon Peter answered
t£i§i,v?S* an^ ^^ * Th°u art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

* not expressed in the original.

• cfa. xlr. IS.
John tI. S9i
il.«7. Ileb.

great division ot our Saviour's ministry on
earth, introductory to His sufferings and
death. Up to this time we have had no
distinct intimation, like that in ver. 21, of
these events. This intimation is brought
in by the solemn question and confession
now before us. And as the former period
of His ministry was begun by a declaration
from the Father of His Sonship, so this
also, on the Mount of Transfiguration.
18. Ca&sarea PhUippi] A town in
Gaulonitis at the foot of Mount Libanus,
not far from the source of the Jordan, a
day's journey from Sidon, once called
Laifth (Judg. xviii. 7, 29) and afterwards
Ban (ibid.), but in later times Paneas, or
Fanias, from the mountain Panium, under
w^ich it lay. The tetrarch Philip enlarged
it and gave it the name of Caesarea. In
after times King Agrippa further enlarged
it and called it Neronias in honour of the
Emperor Nero. This must not be con-
founded with the Csesarea of the Acts,
which was Csesarea Stratonis, on the Medi-
terranean. See Acts x. 1, and note. Hie
following enquiry took place by the wag,
Mark viii. 27. St. Luke gives it without
note of place, but states it to have been
asked on the disciples joining1 our Lord,
who was praying alone, Luke ix. 18.
The reading of the last words of the verse
is somewhat uncertain. Some of the
oldest authorities have, Who do men aay
that the Bon of Man isl Some would
render as if our Lord had said, ' Who sag
men that I ami the Son of Man V i. e. the
Messiah ? but this is inadmissible, for the
answer would not then have been expressed
as it is, but affirmatively or negatively.
Equally inadmissible is Olahausen's render-
ing, ' Me, who am, as ye are aware, the
Son of Man ?' an expression, Olshausen
says, by which the disciples would be led
to the idea of the Son of God. But
then this would destroy the simplicity of
the following question, But who say ye
that I amf because it would put into
their mouths the answer intended to be
given. The A. V. has beyond doubt the
right rendering of this reading: and the
Son of Man is a pregnant expression,
which we now know to imply the Messiah'

ship in the root of our human nature, and
which even then was taken by the Jews
as = the Son of God, (see Luke xxii. 69,
70,) which would serve as a test of the
faith of the disciples, according to their
understanding of it. 14.] It is no

contradiction to this verdict that some
called him the Son of David (ch. ix. 27;
xii. 28 ; xv. 22) ; for either these were or
were about to become His disciples, or are
quoted, as examples of rare faith, or as in
ch. xii. 23, it was the passing doubt on
the minds of the multitude, not their
settled opinion. The same may be said of
John vii. 26, 31 ; iv. 42. On our Lord's
being taken for John the Baptist, see ch.
xiv. 2, from which this would appear to be
the opinion of the Herodians. one of

the prophets] «• that one of the old pro-
phets is risen again" Luke ix. 19. It was
not a metempsycho8i8,but a bodily resurrec-
tion which was believed. On Elias, see note
at ch. xi. 14. Jeremiah is mentioned first as
being accounted by the Jews first in the pro-
phetic canon. The confession is not made
in the terms of the other answer : it is not
' we say ' or ■ I say/ but Thou art. It is
the expression of * an inward conviction
wrought by God's Spirit. The excellence
of this confession is, that it brings out
both the human and the divine nature of
the Lord : the Christ is the Messiah, the
Son of David, the anointed King : the Bon
of the living God is the Eternal Son,
begotten of the Eternal Father, not ( Son
of God' in any inferior figurative sense,
not one of the sons of God, of angelic
nature, but the Sow op the urnro
God, having in Him the Sonship and
the divine nature in a sense in which
they could be in none else. This was a
view of the Person of Christ quite distinct
from the Jewish Messianic idea, which
appears to have been that he should
be a man born from men, but selected by
God for the office on account of his emi-
nent virtues. This distinction accounts
for the solemn blessing: pronounced in the
next verse. 16.] The word living must

not for a moment be taken here as it some-
times is used, (e. g. Acts xiv. 15,) as merely
distinguishing the true God from dead

•

14—18.

ST. MATTHEW.

119

*7 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-iona: for flesh and blood hath not re- _ ..

u f 1 Cor. II. 10t

vealed it unto thee, but f my Father which is in heaven. -JJiVJj.
18 And I say also unto thee, That «thou art Peter, and £bKS£
upon this rock I will build my church; and hthe gates of J*1

idols: it is here emphatic, and imparts
force and precision to Son. That

Peter when he uttered the words, under-
stood by them in detail all that we now
understand, is not of course asserted:
but that they were his testimony to the
true Humanity and true Divinity of the
Lord, in that sense of deep truth and re-
liance, out of which springs the Christian
life of the Church. 17.] Blessed art

thou, as in ch. v. 4, Ac., is a solemn ex-
pression of blessing, an inclusion of him to
whom it is addressed in the kingdom of
heaven, not a mere word of praise. And
the reason of it is, the fact that the Father
had revealed the Son to him (see ch. xi.
25—27) j cf. Gal. i. 15, 16, in which passage
the occurrence of the word "reveal " seems
to indicate a reference to this very saying
of the Lord. The whole declaration of St.
Paul in that chapter forms a remarkable
parallel to the character and promise given *
to St. Peter in our text,— as establishing
Paul's claim to be another such rock or
pillar -as Peter and the other great Apos-
tles, because the Son had been revealed in
him not of man nor by men, but by God
Himself. The name Simon Bar-jona is
doubtless used as indicating his fleshly
state and extraction, and forming the
greater contrast to his spiritual state,
name, and blessing, which follow. The
6ame ' Simon son of Jonas' is uttered when
he is reminded, by the thrice repeated en-
quiry, ' Lovest thou me ? ' of his frailty, in
his previous denial of his Lord. 18.]

The name Peter (not now first given, but
prophetically bestowed by our Lord on His
first interview with Simon, John i. 43) or
Cephas, signifying a rock, the termination
being only altered from Petra to Petros
to suit the masculine appellation, denotes
the personal position of this Apostle in
the building of the Church of Christ. He
was the first of thoee. foundation-stones
(Rev. xxi. 14) on which the living temple
of God was built : this building itself be-
ginning on the day of Pentecost by the
laying of three thousand living stones on
this very foundation. That this is the
simple and only interpretation of the words
of our Lord, the whole usage of the New
Testament shews : in which not doctrines
nor confessions, but men, are uniformly the
pillars and stones of the spiritual building.

See 1 Pet. ii. 4—6 : 1 Tim. iii. 15 (where
the pillar is not Thnotheus, but the con-
gregation of the faithful) and note : Gal.
5. 9 : Eph. ii. 20 : Rev. iii. 12. And it is
on Peter, as by divine revelation making
this confession, as thus under the influence
of the Holy Ghost, as standing out before
the Apostles in the strength of this faith,
as himself founded on the one foundation,
Jesus Christ, 1 Cor. iii. 11— that the
Jewish portion of the Church was built,
Acts ii. — v., and the Gentile, Acts x., xi.
After this last event, we hear little of him ;
but during this, the first building time, he
is never lost sight of: see especially Acts i.
15; ii. 14, 37; iii. 12; iv. 8; v. 15, 29;
ix. 34, 40 ; x. 25, 26. We may certainly
exclaim with Bengel, "All this may be
said with safety ; for what has this to do
with Rome ? " Nothing can be further
from any legitimate interpretation of this
promise, than the idea of a perpetual pri-
macy in the successors of Peter; the very
notion of succession is precluded by the
form of the comparison, which concerns
the person, and him only, so fiir as it in-
volves a direct promise. In its other and
general sense, as applying to all those
living stones (Peter's own expression for
members of ChrisCs Church) of whom the
Church should be built, it implies, as
Origen excellently comments on it, say-
ing, that all this must be understood as
said not only to Peter, as in the letter of
the Gospel, but to every one who is such
as Peter here shewed himself, as the spirit
of the Gospel teaches us. The application
of the promise to St. Peter has been elabo-
rately impugned by Dr. Wordsworth. His
zeal to appropriate the rock to Christ
has somewhat overshot itself. In arguing
that the term can apply to none but God;
he will find it difficult* surely to deny all
reference to a rock in the name Peter.
To me, it is equally difficult, nay im-
possible, to deny all reference, in "upon
this rock," to the preceding word Peter.
Let us keep to the plain straightforward
sense of Scripture, however that sense
may have been misused by Rome,
ehurch] This word occurs but in one
place besides in the Gospels, ch. xviii. 17,
and there in the same sense as here, vis.
the congregation of the faithful: only
there it is one portion of that oongrega-

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120

ST. MATTHEW.

XVL

loh.ZTlil.18.
John xx. 18.

lch xx. 17.

hell shall not prevail against it. 19 [» ! And] I will give unto
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. 2° k Then charged he his disciples that they should
tell no man that he was [v Jesus] the Christ. 2l From that
time forth began Jesus to 1 shew unto his disciples, how that
he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be

11 omitted by our oldest MSS.

omit.

tion, here the whole. The gates of

hell (Hades), by a well-known Oriental
form of speech, is equivalent to the power
of the kingdom of death. The form is
still preserved when the Turkish empire
is known as 'the Ottoman Porte.' This
promise received a remarkable literal ful-
filment in the person of Peter in Acts xii.
6 — 18, see especially ver. 10. The

meaning of the promise is, that over the
Church so built upon him who was by the
strength of that confession the Bock, no
adverse power should ever prevail to ex-
tinguish it. 10.] Another personal
promise to Peter, remarkably fulfilled in
his being the first to admit both Jews and
Gentiles into the Church; thus using the
power of the keys to open the door of sal-
vation. As an instance of his shutting it
also, witness his speech to Simon Magus,
Acts viii. 21. whatsoever thou shalt
bind, fte.] This same promise is repeated
in ch. xviii. 18, to all the disciples gene-
rally, and to any two or three gathered
together in Chris ft name. It was first
however verified, and in a remarkable and
prominent way, to Peter. Of the binding,
the case of Ananias and Sapphira may
serve as an eminent example: of the
loosing, the " Such as I have, give I thee,"
to the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of
the Temple. But strictly considered, the
binding and loosing belong to the power
of legislation in the Church committed to
the Apostles, in accordance with the Jew-
ish way of using the words bind and loose
for prohibit and allow. They cannot re-
late to the remission and retention of sins,
for though to loots sins certainly appears
to mean to forgive sins, to bind sins for
retaining them would be altogether with-
out example, and, I may add, would bear
no meaning in the interpretation : it is not
the sin, but the sinner, that is bound,
''liable to eternal sin " (so in text) (Mark
iii. 29}. Nor can the ancient custom of
fastening doors by means of cord be alluded
to; for the expressions clearly indicate

something bound and something looted,
and not merely the power of the keys jurt
conferred. The meaning in John xx. 23,
though an expansion of this in one parti-
cular direction (see note there), is not to
be confounded with this. 90.] See

note on ch. viii. 4.

21—28.] OUB LOBD ANNOUNCES HlB
APPBOACHING DBATH AND BBSUBRBC-

tion. Rebuke of Pkteb. Mark viii.
31— ix.l. Luke ix. 22— 27. See note on
ver. 18. Obscure intimations had before
been given of our Lord's future sufferings,
see ch. x. 88 : John iii. 14, and of His
resurrection, John ii. 19 (x. 17, 18?), bat
never yet plainly, as now. With St Mark's
usual precise note of circumstances, he
adds, "He spake that saying openly."
21.] On must, which is common to
the three Evangelists, see Luke xxiv. 26 :
John iii. 14, and ch. xxv. 54.
gaffer many things] "be rejected* in
Mark and Luke. These many thingt were
afterwards explicitly mentioned, ch. xi.
18: Luke xviii. 31, 32. alders and

chief priests and scribes] The various
classes of members of the Sanhedrim: see
note on ch. ii. 4. On the prophecy

of the resurrection, some have objected
that the disciples and friends of our Lord
appear not to have expected it (tee John
xx. 2 : Luke xxiv. 12). But we have it
directly asserted (Mark ix. 10 and 32)
that they did not understand the saying,
and therefore were not likely to make it s
ground of expectation. Certainly enougU
was known of such a prophecy to make u ie
Jews set a watch 'over the grave (Matt.
xxvii. 63), which of itself answers the ob-
jection. Some Commentators reason about
the state of the disciples after the cruci-
fixion, just as if they had not suffered any
remarkable overthrow of their hopes ana
reliances, and maintain that they ****
have remembered this precise P^P^^y j[
it had been given by the Lord. Bat °°
the other hand we must remember no*
alow despondency is to take up hope, su

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19—26.

ST. MATTHEW.

121

raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and

w began to rebuke him, saying, x Be it far from thee, Lord :

this shall not be unto thee. ^ But he tunned, and said

unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: mthou art anmBomTl,i^

offence unto me : for thou savourest not the things that be

of God, but those that be of men. a*nThen said Jesus nch.x. ».

« v • i -r/» »n a. • AcWixlT.il.

unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him JJJST^iJ;

deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. *° For

0 whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever0 J J^Sta?"

will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ** For what 7 is

a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose

his own s soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for

w the oldest MS. reads, saith to him, rebuking him.

x render, God be gracious to thee.

7 some of the best MSS. read, shall a man be profited.

1 render, life.

how many of the Lord's sayings must
have been completely veiled from their
eyes, owing to their non-apprehension of
His sufferings and triumph as a whole*
He Himself reproaches them with this
very slowness of belief after His resur-
rection. It is in the highest degree im-
probable that the precision should have
been given to this prophecy after the event,
as Meyer supposes : both from the character
of the Gospel History in general (see Prole-
gomena), and because of the carefulness and
precision in the words added by St. Mark ;
see above. 2*.] The same Peter, who

but just now had made so noble and spiri-
tual a confession, and received so high a
blessing, now shews the weak and carnal
side of his character, becomes a stumbling-
block in the way of his Lord, and earns
the verv rebuff with which the Tempter
before him had been dismissed. Nor is
there any thing improbable in this; the
expression of spiritual faith may, and fre-
quently does, precede the betraying of
carnal weakness; and never is this more
probable than when the mind has just
been uplifted, as Peter's was, by com-
mendation and lofty promise. took
(hold of) him] by the dress or hand, or
perhaps took him aside privately.
The " Be it far from thee" of the A. V.
is literally (God be) gracious (or, pro-
pitious) to thee. this shall not be
unto thee] It is an authoritative declara-
tion, as it were, on Peter's part, This shall
not happen to thee, implying that he
knew better, and could ensure his divine
Master against such an event. It is this
spirit of confident rejection of God's re-
vealed purpose which the Lord so sharply

rebukes. 23.] As it was Peter's

spiritual discernment, given from above,
which made him a foundation -stone of the
Church, so is it his carnality, proceeding
from want of unity with the divine will,
which makes him an adversary now. Coin-
pare ch. iv. 10, also Eph. vi. 12. then
art an offence unto me] literally, Thou
art my stumbling-block (not merely a
stumbling-block to me), " rock (petra) of
offence," in Peter's own remarkable words,
1 Pet. ii. 7, 8,— joined too with the very
expression, which the builders disallowed
(rejected), which, as above noticed, occurs
in this passage in Mark and Luke. Be-
fore this rebuke St. Mark inserts " when
he had turned about and looked on his
disciples," that the reproof might be be-
fore them all. 24.] When he had
called the people unto him with his dis-
ciples also, Mark viii. 34; he said to them
all, Luke ix. 23. This discourse is a so-
lemn sequel to our Lord's announcement
respecting Himself and the rebuke of
Peter: teaching that not only He, but
also His followers, must suffer and self-
deny; that they all have a life to save,
more precious than all else to them ; and
that the great day of account of that life's
welfare should be ever before them. On
this and the following verse, see ch. x. 38,
39. After his cross Luke inserts " daily."
26.] There is apparently a refer-
ence to Psalm xlix. in this verse. Com-
pare especially the latter part with ver.
7, 8, of that Psalm. lose his own
life = " lose himself" Luke. Compare
also 1 Pet. i. 18. what shall a man
give in exchange for his life 1] We must
not here render soul, but life, understand-

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122

ST. MATTHEW.

XVI. 27, 28.

P&"T}£- bis *soul? 27 For *the Son of man shall come in the glory

q Dan. Til. 10. o *

KiJ! si?* of his Father q with his angels ; r and then he shall reward
rj^bxKi^ii. every man according to his D works. & Verily I say unto
S° j "xY;u. y°u> There be some • standing here, which shall not taste of
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
XVII. l And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James,

10: xxxll.19.

Bom. II. 0.

1 Cor. 111. a.

J Cor. t. 10.

1 Pet. 1.17.

B«T.U.ttixxU.lt.

a render, life. D render, work. ° read, of those standing.

ing it in the higher sense, life here and
hereafter. 87.1 A further revelation

of this important chapter respecting the
Son of Man. He is to be Judge of all —
and, as in ch. xiii. 41, is to appear with
Mis angels, and in the glory of His Father
—the "glory which thou hast given me,"
John xvii. 22. Mark and Luke place here,
not this declaration, but that of our ch.
x. S3. Our Lord doubtless joined the two.
Compare ch. xxiv. 30; xxv. 31. For

implies, "And it is not without reason
that I thus speak : a time will come when
the truth of what I say will be shewn."
his work, considered as a whole :
his habit of action, 28.] This declara-
tion refers, in its full meaning, certainly
not to the transfiguration whichfollows, for
that could in no sense (except that of being
a foretaste : compare Peters own allusion
to it, 2 Pet. i. 17, where he evidently treats
it as such) be named 'the Son of Man
coming in his Kingdom/ and the expres-
sion, some . . . which shall not taste ef
death, till . . ., indicates a distant event, —
but to the destruction of Jerusalem, and
the full manifestation of the Kingdom of
Christ by the annihilation of the Jewish
polity ; which event, in this aspect as well
as in all its terrible attendant details, was
a type and earnest of the final coming of
Christ. See John xxi. 22, and compare
Deut. xxxii. 86 with Heb. x. 80. This
dreadful destruction was indeed judgment
beginning at the house of God. The in-
terpretation of Meyer, Ac., that our Lord
referred to His ultimate glorious coming,
the time of which was hidden from Him-
self (see Mark xiii. 32 : Acts i. 7), is self-
contradictory on his own view of the Per-
son of Christ. That our Lord, in His
humanity in the flesh, did not know the
day and the hour, we have from His own
lips : but that not knowing U, He should
have uttered a determinate and solemn
prophecy of it, is utterly impossible. His
▼erily I say unto you always introduces
His solemn and authoritative revelations
of divine truth. The fact is, there is a
reference back in this discourse to that in
ch. x., and the coming here spoken of is the

same as that in ver. 28 there. Stier well
remarks that this cannot be the great and
ultimate coming, on account of the terms
of the announcement, which imply that
they should taste of death after they had
seen it, and would therefore be inapplicable
to the final coming. This is denied by
Wordsworth, who substitutes for the simple
sense of "shall not taste of death,*' the
far-fetched one, "shall not feel its bitter-
ness," " shall not taste of the death of the
soul/' and then, thus interpreting, gives
the prophecy, as it seems to me, the very
opposite of its' plain sense : " they will not
taste of death till 1 come : much less will
they taste of it then."

Chap. XVII. 1-1$.] Tim transpi-
OUEation. Mark ix. 2—13. Luke ix.
28—86. This weighty event forms the
solemn installation of our Lord to His
Bufferings and their result. Those three
Apostles were chosen to witness it, who
had before witnessed His power over death
(Mark v. 37), and who afterwards were
chosen to accompany Him in His agony
(ch. xxvi. 37), ana were (John xx. 2 : Mark
xvi. 7) in an especial sense witnesses of
His resurrection. The Two who appeared
to them were the representatives of the
law and the prophets : both had been re-
moved from this world in a mysterious
manner : — the one without death, — the
other by death indeed, but so that his
body followed not the lot of the bodies
of all ; both, like the Greater One with
whom they spoke, had endured that super-
natural fast of forty days and nights:
both had been on the holy mount in the
visions of God. And now they came, en-
dowed with glorified bodies before the
rest of the dead, to bold converse with the
Lord on that sublime event, which had
been the great central subject of all their
teaching, and solemnly to consign into
His hands, once and for all, in a sym-
bolical and glorious representation, their
delegated and expiring power. And then
follows the Divine Voice, as at the Bap-
tism, commanding however here in addi-
tion the sole hearing and, obedience of
Him whose, power and glory were thus

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XVII. 1—4.

ST. MATTHEW.

123

and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high
mountain apart, 2 and was transfigured before them : and
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as
the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses
and Elias talking with him. * Then answered Peter, and
said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here : if thou

testified. There can arise no question of
the absolute historical reality of this nar-
ration. It is united by definite marks
of date with what goes before; and by
intimate connexion with what follows. It
cannot by any unfairness be severed from
its context. Nor again is there any thing
mentioned which casts a donbt on the
reality of the appearances (see below, on
vision, ver. 9). The persons mentioned
were seen by all — spoke— and were re-
cognized. The concurrence between the
tliree Evangelists is exact in all the cir-
cumstances, and the fourth alludes, not
obscurely, to the event, which it was not
part of his purpose to relate ; John i. 14.
Another of the three spectators distinctly
makes mention of the facts here related,
2 Pet. i. 16—18. I cannot but add,
having recently returned from the sight
of the wonderful original at Rome, that
the great last picture of Raffaelle is one
of the best and noblest comments on this
portion of the Gospel history. - The events
passing, at the same time, on, and under,
the Mount of Transfiguration, are by the
painter combined, to carry to the mind
of the spectator the great central truth,
There is none but Christ to console and to
glorify our nature. It is a touching re-
flection, that this picture was left un-
finished by the painter, and carried in his
funeral procession. 1.] "About an

eight dags after these sayings," Lake ix.
28. The one computation is inclusive, the
other not ; or perhaps, from the " about"
being inserted, the one is precise, the
other roughly stated. The time of the
transfiguration was probably nighty for the
following reasons. (1) St. Luke informs us
that the Lord had gone up to the mount
to pray ; which He usually did at night
(LukevL 12; xxi. 87; xxii. 88: Matt. xiv.
28, 24 al.). (2) All the circumstances con-
nected with the glorification and accom-
panying appearances would thus be more
prominently seen. (8) The Anostles were
asleep, and are described. Luke, ver. 82,
as * having kept awake through it.' (4)
TTiev did not descend till the next day
(Luke, ver. 87), which would be almost
inexplicable had the event happened by
day, but a matter of course if by night.
aa high mountain] The situation

of this mountain is uncertain. It was pro-
bably not Tabor, according to the legend ;
for on the top of Tabor then most likely
stood a fortified town (De Wette, from
Robinson). Nor is there any likelihood
that it was Panium, near Csssarea Philippi,
for the six days would probably be spent
in journeying; and they appear imme-
diately after to have come to Capernaum.
It was most likely one of the mountains
bordering the lake. St. Luke speaks of it
merely as "the mountain" (country).
Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 899, con-
tends for Hermon : as does, though doubt-
inglv, Dr. Thomson, The Land and the
Book, p. 281. Stanley thinks that our
Lord would still be in the neighbourhood
of CoBsarea Philippi : and that " it is im-
possible to look up from the plain to the
towering peaks of Hermon, almost the
only mountain which deserves the name
in Palestine, and one of whose ancient
titles (' the lofty peak ') was derived from
this very circumstance, and not be struck
with its appropriateness to the scene ....
High up on its southern slopes there must
be many a point where the disciples could
be taken * apart by themselves.' Even the
transient comparison of the celestial splen-
dour with the snow, where alone it could
be seen in Palestine, should not perhaps
be wholly overlooked/' 2.] was trans-
figured = " the fashion of his countenance
was altered," Luke. In what way, is not
stated; but we may conclude from what
follows, by being lighted with radiance
both from without and from within.
White at the light = " white and glisten-
ing" Luke; = "exceeding white [as
snow] so as no fuller on earth can white
them" Mark. 8.] There need be no

question concerning the manner of the
recognition of Moses and Elias by the dis-
ciples : it may have been intuitive and im-
mediate. We can certainly not answer
with Olshausen, that it may have arisen
from subsequent information derived from
our Lord, for Peter's words in the next
verse preclude this. St. Luke adds, " who
appeared in glory, and spake of his de-
cease, which he should accomplish in Jeru-
salem." 4.] St. Luke inserts, that the
Apostles had been asleep, but wakened
through this whole occurrence;*— thereby

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124 ST. MATTHEW. XVII.

wilt, & let us make here three tabernacles ; one for thee, and
a s pet i. 17. one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6 a While he yet spake,

behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them : and behold a

bob. ui. i7. voice out of the cloud, which said, bThis is my beloved

S iS^tll^ii. Son, c in whom I am well pleased \ d hear ye him. 6 e And

j^J**1" when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and

f ulVi1"*1!*1 were sore afra^« 7 And Jesus came and 'touched them,

is. b«t. i.i7. an<i ga^ Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had

lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
tcb.xTi.tt. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, * Jesus

charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the

Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his dis-
hch?1xi.Ti£' ciples asked him, saying, h Why then say the scribes that

Elias must first come ? n And • Jesus answered and said
iJULiyfl. unto them, Elias truly f shall first come, and ! restore all
i7. Ww. things. u k But I say unto you, That Elias is come already,
i di/xiv'tio. and they knew him not, but 1have done unto him what-
mch.xTi.ti. soever they listed. Likewise "shall also the Son of man
nch.xLu. suffer of them. 13nThen the disciples understood that he

spake unto them* of John the Baptist. 14 And when they

d read, I will make. e read, he.

' some of the oldest authorities ready truly cometh and shall restore.

distinguishing it from a mere vision of 0.] No unreality is implied in the word

sleep; and that this speech was made vision, for it is expressed by "what they

"as they departed from him" Both had seen" in Mark and in Luke: see Num.

Mark and Luke add, that Peter knew not xxiv. 3, 4. St. Luke, without mentioning

what he said : and Mark — "fbr they were the condition of time imposed on them, re-

sore afraid" The speech was probably markably confirms it by saying, " they told

uttered with reference to the sad an- no man in those days . . . ."

nounceinent recently made by our Lord, 10.] The occasion of this enquiry was, that

and to which his attention had been re- they had just seen Elias withdrawn from

called by the converse of Moses and Elias. their eyes, and were enjoined not to tell

It is one of those remarkable coin- the vision. How then should this be ?

cidences of words which lead men on, in If this was not the coming of Elias,

writing, to remembrances connected with was he yet to come ? If it was, how was

those words, that in 2 Peter i. 14, 15, it so secret and so short? On ver.

tabernacle and decease (exodus, as here) 12, see note on ch. xi. 14. Our

have just been mentioned before the allu- Lord speaks here plainly in the future,

sion to this event : see note there. and uses the very word of the prophecy

Lord] Rabbi, Mark,— Master, Luke. Mai. iv. 6. The double allusion is only

5.] them, viz. our Lord, Moses and Elias. the assertion that the Elias (in spirit and

St. Luke adds, " they feared as they entered power) who foreran our Lord's first coming,

into the cloud" That the Apostles did was a partial fulfilment of the great pro-

not enter the cloud, is shewn by the voice phecy which announces the real Elias (the

being heard out of the oloud. The hear words of Malachi will hardly bear any

him, and disappearance of the two hea- other than a personal meaning), who is

venly attendants, are symbolically con- to forerun His greater and second coming,

nected, — as signifying that Ood, who had 14 — SI.] Healing of a. possessed

spoken in times past to the Fathers by the lunatic. Mark ix. 14—29. Luke ix.

Prophets, henceforth would speak by His 37—42. By much the fullest account of

Son. Vv. 6, 7 are peculiar to Matthew, this miracle is contained in Mark, where

Digitized by VjOOQIC

5-24. ST. MATTHEW. 125

were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain

man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have

mercy on my son : for he is lunatick, and sore vexed : for

ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not

cure him. *7 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless

and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?

how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18 And Jesus % rebuked the devil ; and he departed out of him :

and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then

came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said„ Why could not

we cast him out ? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because

of your n unbelief: for verily I say unto you, °If ye have •f^jyg-^

faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this

mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall

remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

[21 i Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and

fasting.] 22 p And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said pch.xvi.«:

unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the £■*•**▼•*

hands of men : ** and they shall kill him, and the third

day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding

sorry.

24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that
received qk tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth q5°2i2Si.

% render, rebuked him, and the devil departed out of him.

b tome old MSS. read, little faith. i omitted by our two oldest MSS.

k render, the two drachmas.

see notes. It was the next day : see Luke 84 — 87.] Demand of the backed
ix. 37, and note on onr ver. 1. Our Lord tribute, and ottr Lord's bbply. Pe-
found the Scribes and the disciples dis- cnliar to Matthew. The narrative com-
puting' (Mark). 16.] He was an only nects well with the whole chapter, the
son, Luke ix. 38. The dromon had de- aim of the events narrated in which is, to
prived him of speech, Mark ix. 17. set forth Jesus as the undoubted Son of
17.] Bengel remarks, that in our Lord's God. 24. the two drachmas] This
severe reproof, the disciples are numbered was a sum paid annually by the Jews of
with the multitude. 19.] It was in twenty years old and upwards, towards the
the house, Mark ix. 28. temple in Jerusalem. Exod. xxx. 13 : 2
88, 88.] Our Lord's second an- Kings xii. 4: 2 Chron. xxiv. 6, 9. Jo-
NOUNCBMENT 07 His dbath and RE- sephus says of Vespasian, "He levied a
SURRBCTION. Mark ix. 30—32. Luke tribute on the Jews all over the world,
ix. 43 — 45. This followed immediately compelling each man to pay two drachmas
after the miracle (Mark ix. 30). Our Lord yearly into the Capitol, as they formerly
went privately through Galilee; For he used to do to the temple at Jerusalem/'
taught hi* disciples, Ac. : — the imparting It does not quite appear whether this pay-
of this knowledge more accurately to His ment was compulsory or not ; the ques-
disciples, which he had begun to do in the tion here asked would look as if it were
last chapter, was the reason for his privacy, voluntary, and therefore by some declined,
For more particulars, see Luke ver. 45: Many Commentators both ancient
Mark ver. 82. and modern, and among them no less names

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126

ST. MATTHEW.

XVII. 25—27.

not your master pay l tribute ? ** He eaith, Yes. And
when he was come into the house, Jesus m prevented him,
saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the
kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own
11 children, or strangers? 2fl Peter saith unto him, Of
strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the n children
free. *7 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go
thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that
first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his. mouth,
thou shalt find a ° piece of money : that take, and give unto
them for me and thee.
»Lukexxu.i*. XVIII. 1 At athat same time came the disciples unto
Jesus, saying, P Who is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven ? * And Jesus called a little child unto him, and

I render, the two drachmas.

II render, SOUS. ° render, a stater.

i. e. anticipated.

P render, Who then is.

than Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Je-
rome, and Augustine, seem to have miased
the meaning of this miracle, by interpret-
ing the payment as a civil one, which it
certainly was not. Peter answered in the
affirmative, probably because he had known
it paid before. 80, 86.] The whole

force of this argument depends on the fact
of the payment being a divine one. It
rests on this : ' If the tone are free, then
on Me, being the Son qf God, has this tax
no claim.' tribute is here the ren-

dering of census, money* taken according
to the reckoning of the census, — a capita-
tion tax, strangen, all who are not
their children, those out of their family.
87.] In this, which has been pro-
nounced the most difficult miracle in the
Gospels, the deeper student of our Lord's
life and actions will find no difficulty.
Our Lord's words amount to this: — "that,
notwithstanding this immunity, we (gra-
ciously including the Apostle in the earthly
payment, and omitting the distinction be-
tween them, which was not now to be
told to any), that we may not offend
tbem, will pay what is required— and shall
find it furnished by God's special provi-
dence for us." In the foreknowledge and
power which this miracle implies, the Lord
recalls Peter to that great confession
(ch. xvi. 16), which his hasty answer to
the collectors shews him to have again
in part forgotten. Of course -the
miracle is to be understood in its literal
historic sense. The rationalistic interpre-
tation, that the fish was to be sold for the
money (and a wonderful price it would be

for a fish caught with a hook), is refuted
by the terms of the narrative, — and the
mythical one, besides the utter inapplica-
bility of all mythical interpretation to any
part of the evangelic history, — by the ab-
sence of all possible occasion, and all pos-
sible significancy, of such a myth. The
stater zzfour drachmas — the exact pay-
ment required for two persons. for,
literally, instead o£ because the payment
was a redemption paid for the person,
Exod. xxx. 12. To this also refers the
"free" above. me and thee— not us;
— as in John xx. 17 : — because the footing
on which it was given was different.
Chap. XVIII. 1—35.] Discourse be-

BPECTIN0 THE GBEATE8T IN THE KINO-
DOM of heaven. Mark ix. 33 — 50. Luke
ix. 46—60. 1.] In Mark we learn

that this discourse arose out of a dispute
among the disciples who should be the

Cztest. It took place soon after the
incident. Peter had returned from
his fishing : see ver. 21. The dispute had
taken place before, on the way to Caper-
naum. It had probably been caused by
the mention of the Kingdom of Qod as at
hand in ch. xvi. 19, 28, and the prefer-
ence given by the Lord to the Three. In
Mark it is our Lord who asks them what
they were disputing about, and they are
silent. At that same time need not

necessarily refer to the incident last re-
lated. It may equally well be understood
as indicating the presence in the mind of
the querist of something that had passed
in the preceding dispute. 8.] From

Mark ix. 36 it appears that our Lord first

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xvin. l—io.

ST. MATTHEW.

127

set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, Verily I say
unto you, b Except ye be 1 converted, and become as little ^Su.**
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, irXSV0,
* c Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little cch.xr.17.
child, the same is greatest in the .kingdom of heaven.
5 And d whoso shall receive one such little child in my <!<*.«•«•
name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these
little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that
a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were
drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world
because of 'offences! for it e must needs be that r offences •* «<>*•«*• in-
come; but fwoe to that man by whom the r offence f on. zxtim.
cometh! 8g Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot 8 offend * oh. t.*,*
thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee : it is better
for thee to enter into x life halt or maimed, rather than
having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting
fire. 9 And if thine eye ■ offend thee, pluck it out, and
cast it from thee : it is better for thee to enter into *■ life
with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into
hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these

* literally, turned.

» literally, scandalize.

r literally, scandals, or stumbling-blocks.
* render, the life [to come] .

placed the child in the midst, and then
took it in His anna: possibly drawing a
lesson for His disciples from its ready
submission and trustfulness. $.

tuned] The word also conveys the idea
of turning back from the course pre-
viously begun, viz. that of ambitions
rivalry. Without this they should not
only not be pre-eminent in* but not
even admitted into, the Christian state—
the Kingdom of Heaven. 4.] Not

"as this Utile child humbleth itself:" the
child was naturally humble : and such as
the child was by nature, we are to be by
choice. 6.] Having shewn the child

as the pattern of humility, the Lord pro-
ceeds to shew the honour in which children
are held in His heavenly kingdom; and
not only actual, but spiritual children —
for both are understood in the expression
one such little child. The receiving in
my name is the serving (Mark ix. 35) with
Christian love, and as belonging to Christ
(see also ch, xxv. 40). 6.] Here St.

Mark and St. Luke insert the saying of
John respecting one casting out daemons in
Jeans' name, who followed not with the
Apostles: which it appears gave rise to
the remark in this verse. St. Luke how-

ever goes on no further with the discourse :
St. Mark inserts also our ch. x. 42. The
punishment here mentioned, drowning,
may have been practised in the sea of
Galilee : see Jerome cited in my Or. Test.
Be Wette however denies this, saying that
it was not a Jewish punishment ; but it
certainly was a Boman, for Suetonius men-
tions it as practised by Augustus on the
rapacious attendants of Cains Ctesar : and on
a certain Macedonian also: see as above,
millstone] the word implies a stone
belonging to a mill turned by an ass, and
therefore larger than the stones of a hand-
mill. 7.] See 1 Cor. xi. 19. Stier
suggests that Judas, who took offence at
the anointing in Bethany, may have been
on other occasions the man by whom the
offence came, and so this may have been
said with special reference to him. Still
its general import is undeniable and plain.
See also Acts ii. 28. 8.] The connexion
is — * Wilt thou avoid being the man on
whom this woe is pronounced ?—then cut
off all occasion of offence in thyself first*
The cautions following are used in a wider
sense than in ch. v. 29, 80. In Mark, the
'foot ' is expanded into a separate iteration
of the command. everlasting fire

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128

ST. MATTHEW.

XVIII.

h E»th. 1. 14.

Luke 1. 10.
i [Luke li.

Ml i xlx. 10.

John ill. 17:

xll.47.
k Luke rr. 4.

little ones ; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels
do always h behold the face of my Father which is in
heaven. [ll { u For the Son of man is come to save that which
was lost.] n k How think ye ? if a man have an hundred
sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
* the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and

* this verse is omitted in several of the oldest authorities.

Y render, the ninety and nine on the mountains, and goeth and
seeketh.

(literally the fire which is eternal), which
here first ocean, is more fully expressed in
Mark, vv. 43, 44 ff. 10.] Hitherto our
text has been parallel with that of Mark
ix. ; from this, Matthew stands alone.
The warning against contempt of these little
ones must not be taken as only implying
that special care must be taken not to
scandalize them, nor indeed as relating
exclusively, or even principally, to children.
We must remember with what the dis-
course began— a contention who should be
greatest among them : and the little ones
are those who are the furthest from these
1 greatest,' the humble and new-born babes
of the spiritual kingdom. And despise
must be understood of that kind of con-
tempt which ambition for superiority
would induce for those who are by weak-
ness or humility incapacitated for such a
strife. There is no doubt that children
are included in the word little ones, as they
are always classed with the humble and
simple-minded, and their character held
up for our imitation. The little children
in the outward state of the Church are
in fact the only disciples who are sure to
be that in reality, which their Baptism
has put upon them, and so exactly answer
to the wider meaning here conveyed by
the term ; and those who would in after-
life enter into the kingdom must turn
back, and become as .these little children —
as .they were when they had just received
the new life in Baptism. The whole dis-
course is in deep and constant reference to
the covenant with infants, which was to
be made and ratified by an ordinance, in
the Kingdom of Heaven, just as then.
On the reason assigned in the latter part of
this verse, there have been many opinions ;
some of which (e. g. that given by Webster
and Wilkinson, ' angels, their spirits after
death :* a meaning which the word never
bore, and one respecting which our Lord
would not have spoken in the present
tense, with always) have been broached
merely to evade the plain sense of the words,
which is— that to individuals (whether in-

variably, or under what circumstances of
minor detail, we are not informed; certain
angels are allotted as their especial atten-
dants and guardians. We know elsewhere
from the Scriptures, both of the Old and
New Testament (Ps. xxxiv. 7 ; xci. 11 :
Heb. i. 14 al.), that the angels do minister
about the children of God: and what
should forbid that in this service, a pre-
scribed order and appointed duty should
regulate their ministrations ? Nay, is it
not certain by analogy that such would
be the case? But this saying of our Lord
assures us that such is the case, and that
those angels whose honour is high before
God are entrusted with the charge of the
humble and meek,— the children in age
and the children in grace. The phrase

I say unto you, as in Luke xv. 7, 10, is
an introduction to a revelation of some
previously unknown fact in the spiritual
world. Stier has some very beautiful

remarks on the guardian angels, and on
the present general neglect of the doctrine
of angelic tutelage, which has been doubt-
less a reaction from the idolatrous angel-
worship of the Church of Borne (see Acts
xii. 15 : Daniel xii. 1 : in the former case
we have an individual, in the latter a
national guardianship). behold the

face, fte. i. e. are in high honour before
God; not perhaps especially so, but the
meaning may be, 'for they have angelic
guardians, who always/ Ac. See Tobit
xii. 15. 11.] The angels are the ser-

vants and messengers of the Son of Man ;
and they therefore (tor &o.) are appointed
to wait on these little ones whom He
came to save; and who, in their utter
helplessness, are especially examples of that
which was lost. 'Here,' remarks Stier,
• is Jacob's ladder planted before our eyes :
beneath are the little ones;— then their
angels ; — then the Son of Man in heaven,
in whom alone man is exalted above the
angels, Who, as the Great Angel of the
Covenant, cometh from the Presence and
Bosom of the Father; — and above Hint
again (ver. 14) the Father Himself, and

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11—17.

ST. MATTHEW.

129

seeketh that. which is gone astray? 1S And if so be that
he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that
sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14 Even so it is not the will w of your Father which is in
heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

15 Moreover * if thy brother shall trespass [x against thee] , ' Ljjjjt w^
go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if
he shall hear thee, m thou hast gained thy brother,
if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two
more, that in nthe mouth of two or three witnesses every ftarfx.uJ

' J John rlil. 17.

word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to J^VS.1'
hear them, tell it unto the J church : but if he neglect to °?S£.T!,iir
hear the J church, let him be unto thee as an ° heathen * "• "<*»

▼ literally, in the presence of your Father.

x omitted by our two earliest MSS.

7 literally, the congregation or assembly.

16 But »J*m««*.«0.

His good pleasure/ 12, 18.] See

notes on Lake xv. 4 — 6, where the same
parable is more expanded. Compare also
Ezek. xxxiv. 6, 11, 12. 14.1 This

verse sets forth to as the work of the Son
ae accomplishing the will of the Father ;
— for it is unquestionably the Son who is
the Good Shepherd, searching for the lost,
ver. 11. For similar declarations see Ezek.
xviii. 23; xxxiii. 11: 2 Pet. iii. 9. The
inference from this verse is — ' then whoever
despises or scandalizes one of these little
ones, acts in opposition to the will of your
Father in Heaven.* Observe, when the
dignity of the little ones was asserted, it
was my Father ; now'that a motive directly
acting on the conscience of the Christian
is urged, it is yonr Father.

15—20.] OF THE METHOD OF PROCEED-
ING WITH AN OFFENDING BBOTHEB: AND
OF THE POWKB OF THE CHBI8TIAN AS-
SEMBLY in such cases. 15.] The
connexion of this with the preceding is :
Our Lord has been speaking of offences
(stumbling-blocks), which subject is the
ground-tone of the whole discourse. One
kind is, when thou sinnest against another,
w. 7—14. A second kind, when thy bro-
ther sine against thee. The remedy for the
former must be, in each individual being
cautious in his own person, — that of the
latter, in the exercise of brotherly love,
and if that fail, the authority of the con-
gregation, vv. 15—17. Then follows an
exposition of what that authority is, w.
18—20. On this verse see Levit. xix.
17, 18. This direction is only in case of
personal offence against ourselves, and then
the injured person is to seek private ex*
Vol. 1.

planation, and that by going to his injurer,
not waiting till he comes to apologize,
hast gained, in the higher sense, reclaimed,
gained for God, see reff. : and fbr thyself
too: "for before, thou hadst lost him,
having been broken off from thy society by
the offence," Euthymius. 16.] The

first attempt of brotherly love is to heal the
wound, to remove the offence, in secrecy ;
to cover the sin : but if this cannot be
done, the next step is, #to take two or
three, still, in case of an adjustment, pre-
venting publicity ; but in the other event,
providing sufficient legal witness. See
reff. and John viii. 17. Compare St.

Paul's apparent reference to these words
of our Lord, 2 Cor. xiii. 1. 17. neglect
to hear] The original verb is a stronger
word than this, implying something of
obduracy : refuse to hear. the ohurch
(literally assembly), by what follows, cer-
tainly not 'the Jewish synagogue' (for
how could vv. 18 — 20 be said in any sense
of it 7), but the congregation of Christians ;
i. e. in early times, such as in Acts iv. 32,
the one congregation, — in after times, that
congregation of which thou and he are
members. That it cannot mean the Church
as represented by her rulers, appears by
vv. 19, 20, — where any collection of be-
lievers is gifted with the power of deciding
in such cases. Nothing could be further
from the spirit of our Lord's command
than proceedings in what are oddly enough
called ' ecclesiastical' courts,
let him be, fte.] Met him no longer be
accounted as a brother, but as one of those
without,' as the Jews accounted Gentiles
and Publicans. Yet even then, not with

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130

ST. MATTHEW.

XVIII.

p johnTi*x"j. man an^ a publican. 18 Verily I Bay unto you, p What-
icot.t.4. soever ye snan iji^d on earth shall be bound in heaven :

and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. 19 ■ Again I say unto you, That if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
q r John iii. m. ask, *it shall be done for them of my Father which is in
heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall
my brother sin against me, and I forgive him ? r till seven
times ? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee,
Until seven times : » but, Until seventy times seven.

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto * a
certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought
unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. ^ But

1 some of the oldest MSS. read, Again verily I say.
* literally f a man (which was) a king.

rLukexrii.4.

• eh. t1. 14.
Col.Lii.lS.

hatred, see 1 Cor. v. 11, and compare 2
Cor. ii. 6, 7, and 2 Thess. iii. 14, 15.
18.] This verse re-asserts in a wider and
more general sense the grant made to
Peter in ch. xvi. 19. It is here not only
to him as the first stone, but to the whole
building. See note there, and on John xx.
23, between whicji and our ch. xvi. 19 this
is a middle point. This refers to that
entire accordance of hearty faith, which
could hardly have place except also in
accordance with the divine will. It was
apparently misunderstood bv the Apostles
James and John ; — see St. Mark's account,
ch. x, 35, in which they nearly repeat these
words. Notice again the [Verily] I say
unto you: see on ch. xvi. 28. 20.] A
generalization of the term church (assem-
bly), and the powers conferred on it> which
renders it independent of particular forms
of government or ceremonies, and esta-
blishes at once a canon against pseudo-
catholicism in all its forms : compare 1 Cor.
i. 2. there am I must be understood

of the presence of the Spirit and Power
of Christ, see chap, xxviii. 20.

21—36.] Reply to Pbtee's question
be8pb0ting the limit of forgiveness;
and bt occasion, the pabable of the
forgiven but unforgiving bebvant.
See Luke xvii. 3, 4. It is possible that
Peter may have asked this question in
virtue of the power of the keys before (ch.
xvi. 19) entrusted to nun, to direct him in
the use of them : but it seems more likely,
that it was asked as in the person of any

individual: that Peter wished to follow the
rules just laid down, but felt a difficulty as
to the limit of his exercise of forgiveness.

The Rabbinical rule was, to forgive
three times and no more; this they justified
by Amos i. 3, &c, Job xxxiii. 29,*30 LXX,
and marg. E. V. The expression 'seven
times a day' is found Prov. xxiv. 16, in con-
nexion with sinning and being restored : sec
also Levit. xxvi. 18—28. In our Lord's an-
swer we have most likely a reference to Gen.
iv. 24. 22.] On seventy times seven.

Chrysostom remarks,* that our Lord doe*
not here lay down a number, but prescribes
that which is infinite and continuous and
everlasting. 23. Therefore] * because

this is so/ because unlimited forgiveness U
the law of the Kingdom of Heaven. The
servants here are not slaves, but ministers
or stewards. By the commanding to he
sold of ver. 25 they could not be slaves hi
the literal sense. But in Oriental lan-
guage all the subjects of the king, even the
great ministers of state, are called slaves.
The individual example is one in high trust,
or his debt could never have reached the
enormous sum mentioned. See Isa. i. 18.

24.] Whether these are talents of
silver or of gold, the debt represented is
enormous, and far beyond any private
roan's power to discharge. 10,000 talents
of silver is the sum at which Hainan
reckons the revenue derivable from the de-
struction of the whole Jewish people, Esth.
iii. 9. Trench remarks (Parables, p. 124)
that we can best appreciate the sum by

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18-31.

ST. MATTHEW.

181

forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him

* to he sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, tySJE£**1-

and payment to he made. ^ The servant therefore fell

down, and worshipped him, saying, [** Lord,] have patience

with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that

servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and

forgave him the deht. 28 But the same servant went out,

and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an

hundred pence : and he laid hands on him, and took him

by the throat, saying, Pay [° me] that thou owest. & And

his fellowservant fell down [°at his feet], and besought

him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee

[° all] . 8° And he would not : but went and cast him into

prison, till he should pay the debt, 31 So when his fellow-

D omitted in some of the oldest authorities,
0 omitted by the oldest MSS.

comparing it with other Bams mentioned
in Scripture. In the construction of the
tabernacle, . twenty-nine talents of gold
were used (Exod. xxxviii. 24) : David pre-
pared for the temple 3000 talents of gold,
and the princes 5000 (1 Chron. xzix. 4^7 :
the Queen of Sheba presented to Solomon
120 talents (1 Kings x. 10) : the King
of Assyria laid on Hezekiah thirty talents
of gold (2 Kings xviii. 14) : and in the
extreme impoverishment to which the
land was brought at last, one talent of

fold was laid on it, after the death of
osiah, by the King of Egypt (2 Chron.
xxxvi. 8). 25.] See Exod. xxii. 8 :

Levit. xxv. 39, 47 : 2 Kings iv. 1. The
similitude is however rather from Oriental
despotism : for the selling was under the
Mosaic law softened by the liberation at
the year of jubilee. The imprisonment
also, and the tormentors, w. 80, 84, favour
this view, forming no part of the Jewish
law. 96.] Luther explains this as the

voice of mistaken self-righteousness, which
when bitten by sense of sin and terrified
with the idea of punishment, runs hither
and thither, seeking help, and imagines it
can build up a righteousness before Qod
without having yet any idea that God
Himself will help the sinner. Trench
remarks, "It seems simpler to see in the
words nothing more than exclamations
characteristic of the extreme fear and an-
guish of the moment, which made him
ready to promise impossible things, even
mountains of gold," p. 127. 28.] Per-

haps we must not lay stress on went out, as
indicating any wrong frame of mind already

begun, as some do : — the sequel shews how
completely he had 'gone out* from the
presence of his Lord. At all events the
word corresponds to the time when the
trial of our principle takes place: when
we ' go out ' from the presence of God in
prayer and spiritual exercises, into the
world. We may observe, that forgive*
ness of sin does not imply a change of
heart or principle in the sinner. The

fellow-servant is probably not in the same
station as himself, but none the less a
fellow-servant. The insignificance of the
sum is to shew us how trifling any offence
against one another is in comparison to
the vastness of our sin against God.
Chrysostom finely remarks : " He paid no
regard even to the words by which he
owed his own deliverance, — the petition
which won for him the forgiveness of those
ten thousand talents: he recognized not
the harbour where he escaped his impend-
ing shipwreck: the posture of the sup-
pliant did not remind him of his lord's
kindness : but rejecting all such considera-
tions in his avarice and his cruelty and his
unforgiveness, he was more cruel than
any wild beast seizing and throttling his
fellow-servant. What doest thou, O man ?
Seest thou not that thou art exacting from
thy self 1 drawing the sword against thy-
self retorting upon thyself the denial, and
refusing for thyself the free forgiveness ? "
that thou owest must be understood
as a haughty expression of one ashamed to
meet the mention of the paltry sum really
owing, and by. this very expression gene-
ralizing his unforgiving treatment to all
2

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132

ST. MATTHEW.

XVIII. 32—35.

servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and
came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then
his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O
thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because
thou desiredst me : 33 shouldest not thou also have had
compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on
thee ? M And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to
the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due [d unto
uX!*.h!'1,*^*]« S5 u So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also
liLl8" unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his
brother [• their trespasses] .

XIX. 1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished
these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the
' coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan ; 2 a and great multitudes
followed him ; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and
saying & unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife for every cause ? 4 And he answered and said unto

* omitted in the oldest MSS. e omitted in the oldest MSS.

f render, borders. & omit.

who owed him aught. 81.] The fel-

low-servants were grieved, the lord U
angry. Anger is not man's proper mood
towards sin, but torrow (see Ps. cxix. 186),
because all men are sinners. These fellow -
servants are the praying people of God,
who plead with Him against the oppression
and tyranny in the world. 82. J " When
he owed 10,000 talents, he never called him
wicked, nor reviled him, but had compas-
sion on him." Chrysostom. 84. the
tormentors] not merely the prison-keepers,
but the torturers. Remember he was to
have been sold into slavery before, and now
his punishment is to be greater. The con-
dition following would amount in the case
of the sum in the parable to perpetual im-
prisonment. So Chrysostom, " that is, for
ever ; for he will never repay." See note
on ch. v. 26. There is a difficulty made,
from the punishment of this debtor for
the very debt which had been forgiven, and
the question has been asked, ' whether sins
once remitted come back again.' But it is
the spiritual meaning which has here ruled
the form of the parable. He who falls from
a state of grace falls into a state of con-
demnation, and is overwhelmed with * all
that debt,' not of this or that actual sin
formerly remitted, but of a whole state of
enmity to God. Meyer well remarks,
that the motive held up in this parable

could only have full light cast on it by the
great act of Atonement which the Lord
was about to accomplish. We may see
from that consideration, how properly it
belongs to this last period of His ministry.
85.] my Father, not your Father, as
in the similar declaration in ch. vi. 14, 15.
This is more solemn and denunciatory,
" for it is not seemly that God should be
called the Father of such an one, so wicked
and malicious." Chrysostom.

Chap. XIX. 1— lS.] Reply to the
Phabisbe'b question concerning di-
vorce, Mark x. 1—12. This appears to
be the journey of our Lord into the region
beyond Jordan, mentioned John x. 40. If
so, a considerable interval has elapsed since
the discourse in ch. xviii. 1.] The

borders of Judasa beyond Jordan forms one
continuous description. Bethany, where He
went, was beyond Jordan, but on the con-
fines of Judasa. See notes on Mark x. 1,
and Luke ix. 51. 2.] This agrees

with what .is said "John x. 41, 42. For
healed, St. Mark has taught. 8.] This
was a question of dispute between the rival
Rabbinical schools of Hillel and Shammai ;
the former asserting the right of arbitrary
divorce, from Deut. xxiv. 1, the other de-
nying it except in case of adultery. It was
also, says De Wette, a delicate question in
the place where our Lord now was, — in the

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XIX. 1—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

133

them, Have ye not read, b that he which made them at the h^lmi'Vt
beginning made them male and female, 6and said, cForc2S'."".si".
this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall
cleave to his wife: and d they twain shall be one flesh ?4i£°f Tl-Wl
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asun-
der. 7 They say unto him, eWhy did Moses then com-«»«*j*i*.i-
mand to give a writing of divorcement; and to put her
away ? . 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hard-
ness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives :
but from the beginning it ^was not so. 9 f And I say unto 'ftk*,, AOt
you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for "•
fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery :

n render, hath not been.

dominions of Herod Antipas, for

every oaue ; — i. e. is any charge which a
man may choose to bring against hie wife
to justify him in divorcing her ? 4 — 6.]
On these verses we may remark, (1) that
our Lord refers to the Mosaic account of
the Creation as the historical fact of the
first creation of man; and grounds his
argument on the literal expressions of that
narrative. (2) That He cites both from
the first and second chapters of Genesis,
and in immediate connexion ; thus shewing
them to be consecutive parts of a continuous
narrative,— which, from their different dic-
tion, and apparent repetition, they have
sometimes been supposed not to be. (3)
That he quotes as spoken by the Creator
the words in Gen. ii. 24, which were actu-
ally said bv Adam ; they must therefore be
understood as said in prophecy, by divine
inspiration, which indeed the terms made
use of in them would require, since the re-
lations alluded to by those terras did not
et exist. As Augustine says, ' (Sod said
>y man that which man foretold.' (4)
That the force of the argument consists
in the previous unity of male and female,
not indeed organically, but by implica-
tion, in Adam. Thus it is said in Gen.
i. 27, He made them (man, as a race)
male (not a male) and female (not, man
and woman) : but then the male and female
were implicitly shut up in one ; and there-
fore after the creation of woman from man,
when one man and one woman were united
in marriage they should be one flesh, be-
cause woman was taken oat of man. The
answer then is, that abstractedly, from the
nature of marriage, it is indissoluble. The
words they twain are in the Septuaginb
and the Samaritan Pentateuch, but not in

the Hebrew. 5. one flesh] Stier re-

marks, that the essential bond of marriage
consists not in unity of spirit and soul, by
which indeed the marriage state should
ever be hallowed and sweetened, but with-
out which it still exists in all its binding
power : — the wedded pair are one flesh,
i. e. one man within the limits of their
united life in the flesh, for this world : be-
yond this limit, the marriage is broken by
the death of the flesh. And herein alone
lies the justification of a second marriage,
which in no way breaks off the unity of
love in spirit with the former partner, now
deceased. 7 — 9.] In this second ques-

tion, the Pharisees imagine that they have
overthrown our Lord's decision by a per-
mission of the law, which they call a com-
mand (compare ver. 7 with ver. 8). But
He answers them that this was done by
Moses on account of their hardness and
sinfulness, as a lesser of evils, and belonged
to that dispensation which entered, Bom.
v. 20 ; was added because of transgres-
sions, Gal. iii. 19. This He expresses by
the your and you, as opposed to the general
terms used before. Only that fomioation,
which itself breaks marriage, can be a
ground for dissolving it. The question,
whether demonstrated approaches to for-
nication, short of the act itself, are to be
regarded as having the same power, must
be dealt with cautiously, but at the same
time with full remembrance that our Lord
does not confine the guilt of such sins to
the outward act only : see ch. v. 28. St.
Mark gives this last verse (9) as spoken to
the diseipUs in the house} and his minute
accuracy in such matters of detail is well
known. This enactment bv our Lord is a
formal repetition of what He had said be-

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134

ST. MATTHEW.

XIX.

and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit
adultery. 10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the
man be so with his wife, it is not igood to marry. n But

g7fM^ii",, he **^ unto them, * All men cannot receive this saying,
save they to whom it is given. 1S For there are some
eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb :
and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of

h liftxTi1 1?' men : an<l h there be eunuchs, which k have made themselves
eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is
able to receive it, let him receive it.

18 Then were there brought unto him little children,
that he should put his hands on them, and pray : and the
disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, Suffer l little

ioh.xTiu.1. children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for !of
such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands
on them, and departed thence.

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, m [Good]

* render, expedient.
1 render, the little children :
are the same.

* render, made.
see Mark x. 14, where the words in the original
m omit. See in St. Mark and St. Luke.

fore in the Sermon on the Mount, ch. v.
32. Some expositors (principally modern)
have fallen into the mistake of supposing
that the dictum applies to the marry-
ing a woman divorced on account of for-
nication. But the full English way of ren-
dering the sentence, would be, a woman
thai divorced, viz. not on account of for-
nication. 10.] the case, not the cause
of divorce just mentioned; nor, the condi-
tion of the man with his wife: but the
account to be given, ' the original ground
and principle.' of the relationship of man
and wife. The disciples apprehend that
the trials and temptations of marriage
would prove sources of sin and misery.
This question and its answer are peculiar
to Matthew. 11, 12.] this laying,
viz. of yours. The for in ver. 12 shews
that the sense is carried on. Our
Lord mentions the three exceptions, the to
whom it is given not to many. 1. Those
who from natural incapacity, or if not that,
inaptitude, have no tendencies towards
marriage: 2. Those who by actual physical
deprivation, or compulsion from men, are
prevented from, marrying: 3. Those who
in order to do the work of God more effec-
tually (as e.g. St. Paul), abstain from mar-
riage, see 1 Cor. vii. 26. The eunuchs and
made eunuchs in the two first cases are to
be taken both literally and figuratively : in

the latter, figuratively only. It is to be
observed that our Lord does not here utter
a word from which any superiority can be
attributed to the state of celibacy : the im-
perative in the last clause being not a com-
mand but a permission, as in Rev. xxii. 17.
His estimate for us of the expediency of
celibacy, as a general question, is to be
gathered from the parable of the talents,
where He visits with severe bkme the bury-
ing of the talent for its safer custody. The
remark is Neander's, and the more valuable,
as he himself lived and died unmarried.

18—15.] The b hinging op children
to Jbsus. Mark x. 13—16. Luke xviii.
15 — 17. After the long divergence of ch.
iz. 51 — xviii. 14* Luke here again falls
into the synoptic narrative. This incident
is more fully related hi Mark, where see
notes. Our Evangelist has that ho

should put his hands on them, and pray
(see Gen. zlviii. 14 : Acts vi. 6), where the
other two have only ' that He should touch
them' The connexion in which it stands
here and in Mark seems to be natural, im-
mediately after the discourse on marriage.
Some further remarks of our Lord, possibly
on the fruit of marriage, may have given
rise to the circumstance.

16—80.] Answbb to the enquiby op
a bich young han, and discourse
THEBEUroN. Mark x. 17—31. Luke xviii.

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10—24.

ST. MATTHEW.

135

XTi.9. Acte
H. 46 « It. M,
86. lTlm.
Ti. 18, 10.

Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life ? x? And he said unto him, n Why called thou
me good? there i* none good but one, that is, God: but if
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He
saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, kThou shalt do no kExod.xx.is

' D«ut.T. 17.

murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 'Honour thy1 <*•**•«•
father and thy mother : and, m Thou shalt love thy neigh- "Jfc"^**18
hour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All 82tf" X
these things have I kept [° from my youth up] : what *"""
lack I yet ? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be per-
fect, ngo and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, nf£kV*3;
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and come and
follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that say-
ing, he went away sorrowful : for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto
you, That ° a rich man shall P hardly enter into the king- ooh^xiu.ij
dom of heaven. 2* And again I say unto you, It is easier JjJ*"-*^
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a

n read, " Why askest thou me concerning good ? There is one
good ; but . . ." see note.

0 omit. See in St. Mark and St. Luke. P render, with difficulty.

probably the tenth commandment. 19.]
The addition of Thou shalt love fyc. is
peculiar to Matthew. 20.] We may

remark that this young man, though self-
righteous, was no hypocrite, no Pharisee :
he spoke earnestly, and really strove to
keep, as he really believed he had kept, all
God's commandments. Accordingly St.
Mark adds, that Jesus looking upon him
loved him : in spite of his error there was
a nobleness and openness about him, con-
trasted with the hypocritical bearing of
the Pharisees and Scribes. 21, 22.]

Our Lord takes him on his own shewing.
As St. Mark and St. Luke add, "One thing
is wanting to thee" Supposing thy state-
ment true, this topstone has yet to be
laid on the fabric. But then it is to be
noticed, that part of that one thing is
Come and follow me (taking up thy cross,
Mark). Stier remarks, that this was a
test of his observance of the first com-
mandment of the first table: of break-
ing which he is by the result convicted.
24.] Lightfoot brings instances
from the Talmud of similar proverbial ex-
pressions regarding an elephant : we have
a case in ch. xziii. 24, of a camel being
put for any thing very large : and we must
remember that the object here was to set
forth the greatest human impossibility,

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18—80. 16.] From Luke ver. 18 we

learn that he was a ruler : from Mark ver.
17, that he ran to our Lord. The spirit
in which he came, — which does not how-
ever appear here so plainly as in the other
gospels, from the omission of "good," and
the form of our Lord's answer,— seems to
have been that of excessive admiration for
Jesus as a man of eminent virtue, and of
desire to know from Him by what work
of exceeding merit he might win eternal
life. This spirit He reproves, by replying
that there is but One Good, ana1 that the
walking by His grace in the way of holi-
ness is the path to life. On the question
and answer, as they stand in the received
text, — and on their doctrinal bearing, see
notes to Mark. This passage furnishes one
of the most instructive and palpable cases
of the smoothing down of apparent dis-
crepancies by correcting the Gospels out of
one another and thus reducing them to
conformity. 18.] De Wette observes

well, that* our Lord gives this enumeration
of the commandments to bring out the
self-righteous spirit of the young man,
which He before saw. He only mentions
those of the second table, having in ver.
17, in His declaration respecting "good,"
included those of the first. Mark has the
addition of "Defraud not," representing

136

ST. MATTHEW.

XIX. 25— SO.

rich man to enter into the kingdom of * God. 25 When his
disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying,
Who then can he saved ? M But Jesus beheld them, and
said unto them, With men this is impossible ; but p with
God all things are possible. 27 Then answered Peter and
said unto him, Behold, q we have forsaken all, and followed
thee; what shall we have therefore? ^And Jesus said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have
followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man
shall sit in the throne of his glory, r ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 2° And
every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sis-
ters, or father, or mother, [M or wife,] or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall
inherit everlasting life. 30 * But many that are first shall
rakiimw. ^ lafit . and the ]Bst ghall ^ firgt. XX. i For the king-

4 one ancient MS. reads heaven, and perhaps, as God stands in the parallel
places, Mark x. 25, Luke zviii. 25, this may he the true reading,

M omitted in the oldest MSS. Origen expressly says that wife is not included.

p Gen. xrili.
14. Jer.
xxxii. 17.
Lake L «7.

qch.iv.30.
Lvka ▼. 11.

S8.S0.M.
10ar.vl.t,
S. Ber.tt.
tt.

■ oh. zz. lAt
zzi. 81, S3,

and to magnify divine grace, which could
accomplish even that. 25.] Who, not

What rich man, which would have been a
far shallower and narrower enquiry, but a
general question — what man! Besides
the usual reason given for this question,
'since all are striving to be rich,* we
must remember that the disciples yet
looked for a temporal Kingdom, and there-
fore would naturally be dismayed at hear-
ing that it was so difficult for any rich
man to enter it. 26. beheld them]

Probably to give force to and impress what
was about to be said, especially as it was
a saying reaching into the spiritual doc-
trines of the Gospel, which they could not
yet apprehend. this, salvation in

general, and even of those least likely to
be saved. with, in both cases, means, ' in
the estimation of/ 27.] The disciples,
or rather Peter speaking for them, recur
to the "shall have treasure in heaven"
said to the young man, and enquire what
their reward shall be, who have done
all that was required of them. He does
not ask respecting salvation, but some
pre-eminent reward, as is manifest by the
answer. The ' all ' which the Apostles had
left, was not in every case contemptible.
The sons of Zebedee had hired servants
(Mark i. 20), and Levi (Matthew ?) could
make a great feast in his house. But
whatever it was, it was their all,
28 — 80.] We may admire the simple truth-
Jktlness of this answer of our Lord. He

does not hide from them their reward:
but tells them prophetically, that in the
new world, the accomplishment of that
regeneration which He came to bring in
(see Acts iii. 21 : Rev. xxi. 5 : Matt. zxvi.
29), when He should sit on His throne of
glory, then they also should sit (see in my
Greek Test, on the peculiar force of the two
different forms of the verb sit, as applied
to our Lord, sitting on His throne as His
own act, and to the Apostles, as being pro-
moted to, and taking their seats on, their
thrones, as the will of another) on twelve
thrones judging (see ref. 1 Cor.) the twelve
tribes of Israel (Bee Rev. xx. 4 ; xxi. 12,
14:— one throne, Judas's, another took,
Acts i. 20). At the same time he informs
them, ver. 29, that this reward should not
in its most blessed particulars be theirs
alone, but that of every one who should
deny himself for Him (see 2 Tim. iv. 8) :
and (ver. 30) cautions them, referring
perhaps especially to Judas, but with a
view to all, as appears by the following
parable, that many first should be last, and
last first. On ver. 29, Stier remarks

that the family relations are mentioned by
St. Matthew in the order in which they
would be left. On the other points requiring
notice, see note on Mark x. 29, 30.

Chap. XX. 1—18.] Parable op thb
laboubebs in the viKETABD. Peculiar
to Matthew. In interpreting this difficult
Parable, we must first carefully observe
its occasion and connexion. It is bound

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XX. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

137

dom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into

by the For to the conclusion of chap, xix.,
and arose out of the question of Peter
in ver. 27, what shall we have therefore ?
(1) Its salient point is, that the Kingdom
of God is of grace, not of debt; that they
who were called first, and have laboured
longest, have no more claim upon Ood
ikon those who were called last : but that
to all, Sis covenant promise shall beful-
filled in its integrity. (2) Its primary
application is to the Apostles, who had
asked the question. They were not to be
of such a spirit, as to imagine, with the
murmurers in ver. 11, that they should
have something super-eminent (because
they were called first, and had laboured
longest) above those who in their own
time were to be afterward called (see
1 Cor. zv. 8 — ll). (3) Its secondary ap-
plications are to all those to whom such
a comparison, of first and last called, will
apply -.—nationally, to the Jews, who were
first called, and with a definite covenant,
and the Heathens who came in after-
wards, and on a covenant, though really
made (see Jer. xxxi. 33: Zech. viii. 8:
Heb. viii. 10), yet not so open and pro~
minent .'—individually, to those whose call
has been in early life, and who have spent
their days in God's active service, and
those who have been summoned later ;
and to various other classes and persons
between whom comparison, not only of

lime, but of advantages, talents, or any
other distinguishing characteristic, can be

made : that none of the first of these can

boast themselves over the others, nor look

for higher place and greater reward, inas-
much as there is but one " gift " of God

according to the covenant of grace. And

the "first" of these are to see that they

do not by pride and self-righteousness be-
come the " last," or worse — be rejected, as

nationally were the Jews ; for among the

many that are called, there are few chosen

— many who will fail of the reward in the

end. (4) In subordination to this leading

idea and warning of the Parable must the

circumstances brought before us be in-
terpreted. The day and its hours are not

any fixed time, such as the duration of the

world, or our Lord's life on earth, or the

life of man, exclusively : but the natural

period of earthly work as applied to the

various meanings of which the parable is

capable. The various times of hiring are

not to be pressed as each having an ex-
clusive meaning in each interpretation :

they serve to spread the calling over the

various periods, and to shew that it is

again and again made. They are the
quarters of the natural day, when the
aliquot parts of the day's wages could be
earned, and therefore labourers would be
waiting. The last of these is inserted for
a special purpose, and belongs more ex-
pressly to the instruction of the parable.
(5) The hire bears an important part in
the interpretation. I cannot with Stier
(whose comment on this parable I think
much inferior to his usual remarks) sup-
pose it to mean " the promise of this life "
attached to godliness. His anxiety to es-
cape from the danger of eternal life being
matter of wages, has here misled him.
But there is no such danger in the inter-
pretation of the parable which I believe to
be the true one. The hire is the promise
of the covenant, uniformly represented by
our Lord and His Apostles as a ' reward'
Matt. v. 12: Luke vi. 35; xiv. 14: John
iv. 86: 1 Cor. hi. 14: 2 John 8: Heb.
x. 35 ; xi. 6 al., reckoned indeed of free
grace: but still, forensically considered,
answering to, and represented by, ' wages,'
as claimed under God's covenant with man
in Christ. (The freeness and sovereignty
of God's gift of grace is pointedly set be-
fore us in ver. 14, It if my will to give
Ac.) This hire I believe then to be eternal
life, or, in other words, God Himself
(John xvii. 8). And this, rightly under-
stood, will keep us from the error of
supposing, that the parable involves a de-
claration that all who are saved will be in
an absolute equality. This gift is, and will
be to each man, as he is prepared to re-
ceive it. To the envious and murmurers,
it will be as the fruit that turned to ashes
in the mouth : by their own unchristian
spirit they will " lose the things that they
have wrought" (2 John 8), and their re-
ward will be null : in otner words, they
will, as the spiritual verity necessitates,
not enter into that life to which they were
called. God's covenant is fulfilled to them
— they have received their denarius — but
from the essential nature of the " hire "
are disqualified from enjoying' its use : for
as Gregory the Great remarks, " the king-
dom of heaven none who murmurs, in-
herits: none who inherits, can murmur."
To those who have known and loved God,
it will be, to each, as he has advanced in
the spiritual life, joy unspeakable and full
of glory. 1. early in the morning]

See Jer. xxxv. 14, and other places,
labourers] in the primary meanings of
the parable, 'apostles, prophets, ministers:'
distinct from the vines m the vineyard.

Digitized by UOO

gle

138 ST. MATTHEW. XX.

his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the la-
bourers for a r penny a day, he sent them into his vine-
yard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw
others standing idle in the marketplace, 4and said unto
them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is
right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again
he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did like-
wise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and
found others standing [*idle], and saith unto them, Why
stand ye here all the day idle ? 7 They say unto him,
Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go
ye also into the vineyard [* and whatsoever is right, that
shall ye receive"] . 8 So when even was come, the lord of
the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and
give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the
first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the
eleventh hour, they received every man a r penny. )0 But
when the first came, they supposed that they should have
received more; and they likewise received every man a
r penny. ll And when they had received it, they mur-
mured against the ^good man of the house, 12 saying, These
last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them
equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of

r render, denarius. ■ omit. * omit.

11 render, householder, as in ver. 1, where the word is the tame.

But inasmuch as every workman is himself " The market-place of the world is con-
subject to the treatment of the husband- trasted with the vineyard of the Kingdom
man (see John xv. 1, 2), and every man in of Qod : the greatest man of business in
the Kingdom of God is in some sense or worldly things is a mere idle gazer, if he
other a worker on the rest, the distinction has not yet entered on the true work which
is not to be pressed — the parable ranges alone is worth any thing or gains any re-
over both comparisons. vineyard] ward." Stier. No positive stipulation
not the Jewish church only, as Greswell, is made with these second, but they are
Parables, iv. 355 ff., maintains. The Jewish to depend on the justice of the house*
Church was God's vineyard especially and holder. They might expect fths of a de-
typically ; Hie Church in all ogee is His narius. From the same dialogue being
true vineyard, see John xv. 1. 2.] implied at the sixth and ninth hour (" he
The denarius a day was the pay of a Roman did likewise ") the " whatsoever is right "
soldier in Tiberius time, a few years before is probably in each case the corresponding
this parable was uttered. Polybius (but part of the denarius, at least in their ex-
in illustrating the exceeding fertility and peetation ; so that it cannot be said that
cheapness of the country) mentions that no covenant was made. 8.] By the
the charge for a day's entertainment in Mosaic law (Deut. xxiv. 15) the wages of
the inns in Cisalpine Qaul was half an as, an hired servant were to be paid him be-
— j,th of the denarius. This we may fore night. This was at the twelfth hour,
therefore regard as liberal pay for the day's or sunset : see ver. 12. I do not think the
work. ^ 3, 4.] The third hour, at steward must be pressed as having a
the equinox our 9 a.m., and in summer 8, spiritual meaning. If it has, it represents
was sometimes wiled "the height of the Christ (see Heb. iii. 6, and ch. xi. 27).
market,"— when the market was fullest. beginning is not merely expletive,

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2-ai.

ST. MATTHEW.

189

the day. ls But he answered one of them, and said,

Y Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou agree with me

for a w penny ? • 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way : T I

will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 16 »Is it not ***»*. *.«.

lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? hJ i*bD#iit.xT.».

Ptot.scULO.

thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 c So the last shall c JtSA.
be first, and the first last[: * a for many be called, but fewdeh.xxu.1*.
chosen] .

tf And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve dis-
ciples apart in the way, and said unto them, 18 e Behold, • oh. xtlji.
we go up to Jerusalem ; and the Son of man shall be be-
trayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they
shall condemn him to death, 19 f and shall deliver him to f °{-0SJjL1J-
the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him ;
and the third day he shall rise again.

20 Then came to him the mother of *Zebedee's children gch.w.n.
with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain
thing of him. 21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou ?

Y more properly, Comrade, or Companion : tee eh. xxii. 12 ; xxvi. 60.

w render, denarius. x render, It is my will to give.

7 render, Or is. * omitted in several of the oldest authorities.

but definite, as in Luke xxiii. 5. 18,

14.] Friend, at first sight a friendly word
merely, assumes a more solemn aspect
when we recollect that it is used in ch.
xxii. 12 to the guest who had not the
wedding garment; and in ch. xxvi. 60 by
our Lord to Judas. go thy way hardly
denotes (as Stier in his 1st edn.) expulsion
and separation from the householder and
his employment: it is here only a word
of course, commanding him to do what a
paid labourer naturally should do.
16. evil] here envious: so also Prov.
xxviii. 22. 16.] The last were first,

as equal to the first; first, in order of
payment ; first, as superior to the first
(no others being brought into comparison),
in that their reward was more in pro-
portion to their work, and not marred by
a murmuring spirit. The first were last
in these same respects. The last

words of the verse belong not so much to
the parable, as to the first clause, and are
placed to account for its being as there
described ; for, while multitudes are called
into the vineyard, many, by murmuring
and otherwise disgracing their calling,
will nullify it, and so, although first by
profession and standing, will not be of the
number of the elect : although called, will

not be chosen. In ch. xxiii. 14 the refer-
ence is different.

W— 19.] Mark x. 32-84. Luke xviiL

31—34. FULLER DECLARATION OF HlS

sufferings and death— revealing His
being delivered to the Gentiles — and (but
in Matthew only) His crucifixion. See
the note on the more detailed account in
Mark.
80—28.] Ambitiottb request of the

MOTHER OF THE SONS OF ZeBEDBE ;

our Lord's rsflt. Mark x. 35 — 45;
not related by Luke. This request seems
to have arisen from the promise made to
the twelve in ch. xix. 28. In Mark's ac-
count, the two brethren themselves make
the request. But the narration in the
text is the more detailed and exact ; and
the two immediately coincide, by our Lord
addressing His answer to the two Apostles
(ver. 22). The difference is no greater
than is perpetually to be found in narra-
tions of the same fact, persons being often
related to have done themselves what, ac-
curately speaking, they did bu another.
The mother's name was Salome; — she
had followed our Lord from Galilee, —
and afterwards witnessed the crucifixion,
see Mark xv. 40. Probably the two bre-
thren had directed this request through

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140

ST. MATTHEW.

XX.

iAct«zii.9. able,

Horn Tlii.17.
S Cor. 1.7.
3 Tim. il. 11.
Bct.1.9.

n ch. xxr. 34.

o oh. rxiH. 11.
Mark ix. H.

heh.xix.s8. She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons hmay
sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on * the left,
in thy kingdom. 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye
ieh.xxTi.8* know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of lthe cup
k Lake zii. so that I shall drink of [* and to be baptized with k the baptism
that I am baptized with] ? They say unto him, We are
83 And he saith unto them, l Ye shall drink indeed
of my cup [• and be baptized with the baptism that I am bap-
tized with] : but to sit on my right hand, and on my left,
is not mine to m give, but it shall be given to them for
whom it is prepared of my Father. ** And when the ten
heard it, they were moved with indignation against the
two brethren. ** But Jesus called them unto him, and
said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise
dominion over them, and they that are great exercise
authority upon them. 26 But n it shall not be so among
you : but ° whosoever will be great among you, let him be

* read, thy. D omit.

their mother, because they remembered
the rebuke which had followed their for-
mer contention about precedence.
SI.] The places close to the throne were
those of honour, as in Josephus, where
speaking of Saul, he describes Jonathan
his son as seated on his right hand, and
Abner the captain of the host on his left.
In a Rabbinical work, it is said, that
Qod will seat the King Messiah at his
right hand, and Abraham at his left.
One of these brethren, John, the beloved
disciple, had his usual place close to the
Lord, John xiii. 23 : the other was among
the chosen Three (this request hardly can
imply in their minds any idea of the rejec-
tion of Peter from his peculiar post of
honour by the rebuke in ch. xvi. 23, for
since then had happened the occurrences
in ch. xvii. 1 — 8, and especially ib. tv.
24—27). Both were called Boanerges, or
the sons of thunder, Mark iii. 17.
They thought the kingdom of God was
immediately to appear, Luke xix. 11.
22. J One at least of these brethren
saw the Lord on His Cross— on His right
and left hand the crucified thieves. Bitter
indeed must the remembrance of this am-
bitious prayer have been at that moment !
Luther remarks, 'The flesh ever seeks to
be glorified, before it is crucified : exalted,
before it is abased.' The ' cup ' is a

frequent Scripture image for joy or sor-
row : see Ps. xxiii. 5 ; cxvi. 18 : Isa. li. 22 :
Matt. xxvi. 42. It here seems to signify

0 omit.

more the inner and spiritual bitterness,
resembling the agony of the Lord Himself,
— and the baptism, which is an important
addition in Mark, more the outer acces-
sion of persecution and trial, — through
which we must pass to the Kingdom of
Qod. On the latter image see Ps. xlii. 7 ;
lxtx. 2 ; czxiv. 4. Stier rightly ob-

serves that this answer of our Lord con-
tains in it the kernel of the doctrine of the
Sacraments in the Christian Church : see
Bom. vi. 1 — 7 : 1 Cor. xii. 13, and note on
Luke xii. 60. Some explain their

answer as if they understood* the Lord to
speak of drinking out of the royal cup,
and washing in the royal ewer: but the
words are ye able to drink, and we are
able, indicating a difficulty, preclude this.

23.] The one of these brethren was
the first of the Apostles to drink the cup
of suffering, and be baptized with the bap-
tism of blood, Acts xii. 1, 2: the other
had the longest experience among them
of a life of trouble and persecution.
The last clause of the verse may be un-
derstood as in the text, ' is not mine to
give, but it shall be given to them for
whom it is prepared of my Father;* so
Meyer, al. ; or, 'is not mine to give, except
to those for whom,' Ac. So Chrysostom
and others. If however we understand
after but ' it shall be given by Me,' the
two interpretations come to the same.

26-28.] great .... first, i. e.
in the next life, let him be minister

•0 ff

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22—30.

ST. MATTHEW.

141

your minister ; *7 * and whosoever will be d chief among J
you, * let Aim be your servant: ^even as the 'Son ofl
man came not to be ministered unto, • but to minister, and *
1 to give his life a ransom u for many.

29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude
followed him. *° And, behold, T two blind men sitting by

eh.xviil.4.

Jdhnxffl.4.

PhO.iL 7.
Lmk»aiLV.
John xiii.14.
In. Uli. !«,
11. Dull.
K«. John
xLH.Sf.
lT1m.IL*.
Ttt.li.14.
1 Pet. Lit.
ch.xxrl.S8.
Heh.iLl«:
ch.ix.17.

* render, first.

and servant here. Thus also the
ver. 28, applies to the coming of the Son
of man mi the flesh only. a ransom,

for many, is a plain declaration of the
sacrificial and vicarious nature of the death
of onr Lord. The principal usages (in the
Greek Scriptures) of the word rendered
ransom are the following :— (1) a payment
as equivalent for a life destroyed ; (2) the
price of redemption of a slave ; (8) ' pro-
pitiation for.' many here is equi-
valent to "all" I Tim. ii. 6. No stress is
to be laid on this word "many" as not
being "all" here; it is placed in oppo-
sition to the one life which is given — the
one for many — and not with any distinction
from " all." (I may observe once for all,
that in the usage of these two words, as
applied to our redemption by Christ, " all"
is the objective, " many " the subjective
designation of those for whom Christ died.
He died for all, as outward matter of met ;
but as matter of individual participation,
the great multitude 'whom no man can
number, " many," will be the saved by Him
in the end.) ' As the Son of man came to
give His life for many and to serve many,
so ye, being many, should be to each one
the object of service and self-denial.'

29— &y HSALIEO OP TWO BLIND
KEN ON HIS DEPABTUBB FBOM JEBICHO.

Hark x. 46—52. Luke xviii. 85—43;
xix. 1, with however some remarkable dif-
ferences. In the much more detailed ac-
count of St. Mark, we have but one blind
man, mentioned by name as Barthnams;
St. Luke also relates it of only one, and
besides says that it was " as he was come
nigh to Jericho" The only fair account
of such differences is, that they existed in
the sources from which each Evangelist
took his narrative. This later one is
easily explained, from the circumstance
having happened close to Jericho — in
two accounts, just on leaving it — in the
third, on approaching to it : but he must
be indeed a slave to the letter, who
would stumble at such discrepancies, and
not rather see in them the corroborating
coincidence of testimonies to the fact it-
self. Yet some strangely suppose our

* read, shall be.

Lord to have healed one blind man (as in
Luke) on entering Jericho, and another
(Bartimsras, as in Mark) on leaving ii, —
and St. Matthew to have, ' with his charac-
teristic brevity in relating miracles,' com-
bined both these in one. But then, what
becomes of St. Matthew's assertion, "as
they departed from Jericho 7" Can we
possibly imagine, that the Evangelist,
having both facts before him, could com-
bine them and preface them with what he
must know to be inaccurate ? It is just
thus that the Harmonists utterly destroy
the credibility of the Scripture narrative.
Accumulate upon this the absurd impro-
babilities involved in two men, under the
same circumstances, addressing our Lord
in the same words at so very short an
interval,— and we may be thankful that
biblical criticism is at length being eman-
cipated from 'forcing narratives into ac-
cordance.' See notes on Mark.
Jebicho, 150 stadia (18 rom. miles) e.e.
of Jerusalem (Jos. B. J. iv. 8. 3), and
60 (7.2 rom. miles) w. from the Jordan
(Jos. ibid.), in the tribe of Benjamin (Josh,
xviii. 21), near the borders of Ephraim
(Josh. xvi. 7). The environs were like an
oasis surrounded by high and barren lime-
stone mountains, — well watered and fer-
tile, rich in palm-trees (Deut. xxxiv. 8:
Judg. i. 16; iii. 18), roses (Ecclus. xxiv.
14), and balsam (Jos. Antt. iv. 6. 1 al.).
After its destruction by Joshua, its rebuild-
ing was prohibited under a curse (Josh,
vi. 26), which was incurred by Hiel the
Bethelite in the days of Ahab (1 Kings xvi.
84) : Le. he fortified it, for. it was an
inhabited city before (see Judg. iii. 18 :
2 Sam. x. 5). We find it the seat of a
school of the prophets, 2 Kings ii. 4 ff.
After the captivity we read o? it, Ezra
ii. 84; Neh. vii. 36: and in 1 Mace. ix.
60 we read that Jonathan strengthened
its fortifications. It was much embellished
by Herod the Great, who had a palace
there (Joe. Antt. xvi. 6. 2 al.), and at this
time was one of the principal cities of
Palestine, and the residence of a chief pub-
lican on account of the balsam trade
(Luke xix. 1). At present there is on or

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142

ST. MATTHEW.

XX. 31—34.

the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried
out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of
David. 31 And the multitude rebuked them, f because
they should hold their peace: but they cried the more,
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
82 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What
will ye that I shall do unto you ? *& They say unto him,
Lord, that our eyes may be opened. 3* So Jesus had com-
passion on them, and touched their eyes : and immediately
% their eyes received sight, and [* they] followed him.
XXI. l And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and
• zech.xw.4. were come to BethphagS, unto athe mount of Olives, then

' render, that.

near the site only a miserable village,
Iiicha or Ericha. 80, 81.] The mul-

titude appear to have silenced them, lest
they should be wearisome and annoying
to oar Lord ; not because they called Him
the Son of David, — for the multitudes
could have* no reason for repressing this
cry, seeing that they themselves (being
probably for the -most part the same per-
sons who entered Jerusalem with Jesus)
raised it very soon after: see ch. xxi. 9.
I have before noticed (on ch. ix. 27) the
singular occurrence of these words, ' Son
of David,' in the three narratives of heal-
ing the blind in this Gospel. 82.] called
them = (literally) "said, call ye him"
Hark, " commanded him to be brought "
Luke. 84.] touched their eyes, not

mentioned in the other Gospels. In
both we have the addition of the Lord's
saying, " thy faith hath saved thee"
The question preceding was to elicit their
faith.
Chap. XXL 1—17.] Tbiumphal en-

TBT INTO JEBTJBALBM: CLEANSING OF

the temple. Mark xi. 1—11, 15. Luke
xix. 29—44. John. xii. 12—86. This
occurrence is related by all four Evan-
gelists, with however some differences,
doubtless easily accounted for, if we knew
accurately the real detail of the circum-
stances in chronological order. In John
(xii. 1),— our Lord came six days before
the Passover to Bethany, where the anoint-
ing (of Matt. xxvi. 6—13) took place : and
on the morrow, the triumphal entry into
Jerusalem was made. According to Mark
xi. 11, — on the day of the triumphal entry
He only entered the city, went to the
temple, and looked about on all things, —
and then, when now it was late in the even-
ing, returned to Bethany, and on the mor-

9 read, they.

n omit.

row the cleansing of the temple took place.
The account in Luke, which is the fullest
and most graphic of the four, agrees chrono-
logically with that in the text. I would
venture to suggest, that the supposition of
the triumphal entry in Mark being related
a day too soon, win bring all into unison.
If this be so, our Lord's first entry into
Jerusalem was private : probably the jour-
ney was interrupted by a short stay at
Bethany, so that He did not enter the city
with the multitudes. That this was the
fact, seems implied in Mark xi. 11. Then
it was that, " when He had looked round
about upon ail things" He noticed the
abuse in the temple, which next day He
corrected. Then in the evening He went
back with the twelve to Bethany, and the
supper there, and anointing, took place.
Meantime the Jews (John xii. 9) lenew
that he was at Bethany ; and many went
there that evening to see Him and Lazarus.
(Query, had not Lazarus followed Him to
Ephraim ?) Then on the morrow multi-
tudes came out to meet Him, and the
triumphal entry took place, the weeping
over the city (Luke xix. 41), and the
cleansing of the temple. The cursing of
the fig-tree occurred early that morning,
as He was leaving Bethany with the twelve,
and before the multitude met Him or the
asses were sent for. (On Matthew's nar-
rative of this event see below on ver. 18.)
According to this view, our narrative omits
the supper at Bethany, and the anointing
(in its right place), and passes to the events
of the next day. On the day of the week
when this entry happened, see note on
John xii. 1. 1. Bethphage* = Heb. the
house of Jigs : a considerable suburb, nearer
to Jerusalem than Bethanv, and some-
times reckoned part of the city. No trace

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XXL 1—11. ST. MATTHEW. 143

sent Jesus two disciples, 2 saying unto them, Go into the
village oyer against yon, and straightway ye shall find an
ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, and bring them
unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall
say, The Lord hath need of them ; and straightway he will
send them. * All this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 6 b Tell ye the *£££££•
daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee,
meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of * an
ass. 6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus com-
manded them, 7 and brought the ass, and the colt, and
put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8 e And k a very great multitude^ spread their garments in ejomiL
the way; d others cut down branches from the trees, and 4MLer.ni!!.
strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went
1 before, and that followed, cried, saying, • Hosanna to the •*»*• «*■«.
son of David : f Blessed is he that cometh in the name of **££!$; 2;
the Lord ; Hosanna in the highest. 10 And when he was
eome into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who *&£ Jh.™
is this? u And the multitude said, This is Jesus gthe th.*-.*/

1 render, a beast of burden.

k render, the greater part of the multitude. 1 read, before him.

of it now remains : see " The Land and the where two way* met" Our Lord sat on

Book," p. 697. 8, 8.] The village the foal (Mark, Luke), and the mother

over against yon, i. e. Bethphagl. Mark accompanied, apparently after the manner

and Lake mention the colt only, adding of a snmpter, as prophets so riding would

" whereon never yet man eat " (see note on be usually accompanied (but not of coarse

Mark) : John " a yonng ass" Justin Mar- doing the work of a sumpter). That this

tyr connects this Terse with the prophecy riding and entry were intentional on the

in Qen. zlix. 11. The Lord, here, 'the part of our Lord, is clear : and also that

LORD/ Jehovah: most probably a general He did not thereby mean to give any

intimation to the owners, that they were countenance to the temporal ideas of HU

wanted for the service of God. I cannot Messiahship, but solemnly to fulfil the

see how this interpretation errs against Scriptures respecting Him, and to prepare

decorum, as Stier asserts. The meanest the way for His sufferings, by a public

animals might be wanted for the service avowal of His mission. The typical mean-

of the Lord Jehovah. And after all, what ing also is not to be overlooked. In all

difference is there as to decorum, if we probability the evening visit to the temple

understand with him " the Lord " to sig- was on the very day when the Paschal

nifv ** the King Messiah ?" The two dis- Lamb was to be taken up— i. e. set apart

ciples were perhaps Peter and John : com- for the sacrifice. 8, 9.] Which was

pare Mark xiv. 13 and Luke xxii. 8. a royal honour : see 2 Kings ix. 13.

4.] A formula of our Evangelist's (see ch. a very great multitude, literally, the

i. 22), spoken with reference to the divine greater part of the multitude.

counsels, but not to the intention of the Hosanna] from Psalm cxviii. 25; = "save

doers of the act ; for this application of now," a formula originally of supplication,

prophecy is in John xii. 16 distinctly said but conventionally of gratulation, so that it

not to have occurred to the disciples at is followed by "to tyc" and by "in the

the time, but after Jesus was glorified, highest," meaning, ' may it be also ratified

6,7.] In Mark, " they found the in heaven!' see 1 Kings i. 86: Luke ii.

ooU tied by the door without, in a place 14, where however it is an assertion, not a

Digitized by VjOOQIC

144

ST. MATTHEW.

XXI.

h John it. is. prophet, of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 h And Jesus went into

the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and

bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the

iDeut.xiT.«. 'moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold m doves,

kisA.wi.7. 13and said unto them, It is written. kMy house shall be

ij«.Yii.n. called the house of prayer; l but ye n have made it a den of

thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in

the temple; and he healed them. 15 And when the chief

priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did,

and the children ° crying in the temple, and saying, Ho-

sanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

16 and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say ? And

m pg.rUL». Jesus saith unto them, Ye§. ; have ye never read, m Out of

the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected

praise ? 17 And he left them, and went out of the city

n John xi.is. into n Bethany; and he lodged there. 18 Now in the

m render, the doves. n read, are making.

0 render, that were crying.

these instead of the lambs for a trespass-

wish. Luke has " the king that cometh,"
John " the king of Israel that cometh."
12.1 Compare the notes on John ii.
13 — 18. The cleansing related in our text
is totally distinct from that related there.
It is impossible to suppose that St. Matthew
or St. John, or any one but moderately
acquainted with the events which he under-
took to relate, should have made such a
gross error in chronology, as must be laid
to the charge of one or other of them, if
these two occurrences were the same. I
rather view the omission of the first in the
synoptic accounts as in remarkable con-
sistency with what we otherwise gather
from the three Gospels — that their nar-
rative is exclusively Oalileean (with one
exception, Luke iv. 44 in our text), until
this last journey to Jerusalem, and conse-
quently the first cleansing is passed over
by them. On the difference from Mark,
see note on ver. 1. Both comings of
Jehovah to His temple were partial fulfil-
ments of Mai. iii. 1 — 3,— which shall not
receive its final accomplishment till His
great and decisive visit at the latter day.
The temple here spoken of was the court
of the Gentiles. We have no traces

of this market in the O. T. It appears to
have first arisen after the captivity, when
many would come from foreign lands to
Jerusalem. This would also account for
the money-changers, as it was unlawful
(from Exod. xxx. 13) to bring foreign
money for the offering of atonement.
doves] the poor were allowed to offer

offering, Lev. v. 7 ; also for the purifica-
tion of women, Lev. xii. 8 : Luke ii. 24.
13.1 Stier remarks that the verse
quoted from Jeremiah is in connexion with
the charge of murder, and the shedding
of innocent blood (see Jer. vii. 6). On
the intention of this act of our Lord, see
notes on John ii. 15. It was a purely
Messianic act; see Mai. iii. 1—3.
15, 16.] The circumstance that the children
were crying * Hosanna to the Son of
David ' in the temple, seems to me to fix
this event, as above, on the day of the
triumphal entry. Psalm viii. is fre-

quently cited in the N. T. of Christ : see 1
Cor. xv. 27 : Heb. ii. 6 : Bph. i. 22. In
understanding such citations as this, and
that in ver. 4, we must bear in mind the
important truth, that the external fulfil-
ment of a prophecy is often itself only a
type and representation of that inner and
deeper sense of the prophecy which belongs
to the spiritual dealings of God.
17.] If this is to be literally understood of
the village (and not of a district round it,
including part of the Mount of Olives;
see Luke xxi. 37), this will be the second
night spent at Bethany. I would rather
of the two understand it UteraUy, and
that the spending the nights on the Mount
of Olives did not begin till the next night
(Tuesday).

18—28.] THB OUfiBE OF THE BABBB1T

fig-tbeb. Mark xi. 12 — 14> 20—26, where
see notes. St. Luke omits the incident.

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12—24.

ST. MATTHEW.

145

. o ch. XTii. SO.

James t. 10.
1 John U1.

ISlT.lt.

morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19 And
when he saw P a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and
found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it,
Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And
presently the fig tree withered away. 20And when the
disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the
fig tree withered away 1 21 Jesus answered and said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, ° If ye have faith, and p doubt Jj»mMi o.
not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree,
*but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou re-qlCor •X,H-*-
moved, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And rall things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be- Tf^J^9
lieving, ye shall receive.

23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief
priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he
was teaching, and 'said, By what authority doest thoi^JSJh!:"
these things? and who gave thee this authority ? ^And riUV'

P render, one.

The cursing of the fig-tree had in
fact taken place on the day before, and
the withering of it was now noticed. St.
Mark separates the two accounts, which
are here given together. We must re-
member that this miracle was wholly
typical and parabolical. The fig-tree was
thb Jewish people— full of the leaves of
an useless profession, but without fruit : —
and further, all hypocrites of every kind,
in every age. It is true, as De Wette ob-
serves, that no trace of a parabolic mean-
ing appears in the narrative (and yet
strangely enough, he himself a few lines
after, denying the truth of the miracle,
accounts for the narrative by supposing it
to have arisen out of a parable spoken by
our Lord) ; but neither does there in that
of the driving out the buyers and sellers
from the temple, and in those of many
other actions which we know to have been
symbolic. 19.] one fig tree, i. e. a soli-
tary fig-tree. It was the practice to plant
fig-trees by the road-side, because it was
thought that the dust, by absorbing the
exuding sap, was conducive to the pro-
duction of the fruit. 21, 82.] This
assurance has occurred before in ch. zvii.
20. That truest and highest faith, which
implies a mind and will perfectly in unison
with that of God, can, even in its least
degree, have been in Him only who spoke
these words. And by it, and its elevating
power over the functions and laws of infe-
rior natures, we may reverently believe that
Vol. h

His most notable miracles were wrought.
It is observable, that such a state of mind
entirely precludes the idea of an arbitrary
exercise of power — none such can therefore
be intended in our Lord's assertion — but
we must understand, — '« if expedient."
Though we cannot reach this faith in its
fulness, yet every approach to it (ver. 21)
shall be endued with some of its wonderful
power,— in obtaining requests from God.
See the remarkable and important addition
in Mark xi. 25, 26.

23—32.] Mark xi. 27—33. Luke xx.
1—8. Oub Load's authority ques-
tioned. His bbplt. Now commences
that series of parables, and discourses of
our Lord with his enemies, in which He
developes more completely than ever be-
fore his hostility to their hypocrisy and
iniquity: — and so they are stirred up to
compass His death. " 23. the chief

priests and the elders of the people]
St. Mark and St. Luke add the scribes, and
so make up the members of the Sanhedrim.
It was an official message, sent with a
view to make our Saviour declare Himself
to be a prophet sent from God — in which
case the Sanhedrim had power to take
cognizance of His proceedings, as of a pro-
fessed Teacher. Thus the Sanhedrim sent
a deputation to John on his appearing as a
Teacher, John i. 19. The question was the
result of a combination to destroy Jesus,
Luke xix. 47, 48. They do not now ask,
as in John ii. 18, What sign shewest Thou
L

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146

ST. MATTHEW.

XXI.

Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you
one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you
by what' authority I do these things. ^The baptism of
John, whence was it ? from heaven, or of men ? And
they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say,
From heaven ; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then
believe him ? ^ But if we shall say, Of men ; we fear the

tch.xri.ft. people; lfor all hold John as a prophet. 27 And they an-
swered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said
unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these
things. 28 But what think ye ? A certain man had two
sons ; and he came to the first, and said, 4 Son, go work to
day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not :
but afterward he repented, and went. 3° And he came to
the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said,
I \? go~], sir: and went not. 81 Whether of them twain
did the will of his father? They say [•unto Aim], The

iT£k.Yii.t», fiygk Jesus saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you,
That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of

4 render, [My] child.
r not expressed in the original. ■ omit.

unto ue, seeing thou doest these thing*?
for they had had many signs, which are
now included in their " these things." The
second Question is an expansion of the first.

20.] The baptism, meaning thereby
the whole office and teaching, of which the
baptism was the central point and seal.
If they had recognized the heavenly mis-
sion of John, they must have also acknow-
ledged the authority by which Jesus did
these things, for John expressly declared
that he was sent to testify of Him, and
bore witness to having seen the Holy Spirit
descend and rest upon Him. John i. 83,
84. believe him, ' give credit to his

words :' ' for those words were testimonies
to Me/ 96, 27.] These ' blind leaders of
the blind' had so far made an insincere
concession to the people's persuasion, as to
allow John to pass for a prophet ; but they
shrunk from the reproof which was sure to
follow their acknowledging it now. This
consultation among themselves is related
almost verbatim by the three Evangelists.
The intelligence of it may have been
originally derived from Nicodemus or Jo-
seph of Arimathaa. The neither tell I
yen of our Lord is an answer, not to their
outward words, " we cannot tell," but to
their inward thoughts, " we will not tell."

28.] But what think ye 1 a formula

of connexion — but doubtless here intended
to help the questioners to the true answer
of their difficulty about John's baptism.
The following parable (peculiar to Mat-
thew) refers, under the image of the two
sons, to two classes of persons, both sum-
moned by the great Father to "work in
His vineyard" (see ch. xx. 1); both Jews,
and of His family. The first answer the
summons by a direct and open refusal —
these are the open sinners, the publicans
and harlots, who disobey God to His face.
But afterwards, when better thoughts are
suggested, they repent, and go. The second
class receive the summons with a respect-
ful assent (not unaccompanied with a self-
exaltation and contrast to the other, im-
plied in the emphatic I, sir) — having how-
ever no intention of obeying (there is no
mention of a change of mind in this case) :
but go not. These are the Scribes and
Pharisees, with their shew of legal obedi-
ence, who " said, and did not " (ch. xxiii.
3). It will of course admit of wider ap-
plications— to Jews and Heathens, or any
similar pair of classes who may thus be

compared. 81/) The go before

yon may be taken either as declarative —
go before you, in the matter of Ood's
arrangements, — or as assertive of the mere
matter of met, are going before you. I

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25—37.

ST. MATTHEW.

147

God before you. 8* For John came unto you in the way

of righteousness, and ye believed him not: Tbut the pub- Tf»k»U1-^

licans and the harlots believed him : and ye, when ye had

seen it, * repented not afterward, that ye might believe

him.

88 Hear another parable : There was * a certain house-
holder, w which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round wStSSuSK
about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, iE.ulk
and let it out to husbandmen, and yxfoent into a farxfclx<l*>
country : &* and when the time of the fruit drew near, he
sent his servants to the husbandmen, J that they might ygtatTlull»
receive w the fruits of it. 85 ■ And the husbandmen took "SSftft
his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned gf.Vu*'
another. M Again he sent other servants more than the 5*!** 5*.
first : and they did unto them likewise. 8? But last of all j£!p*V

* The Vatican MS. hat, did not even repent.
11 literally, a man (which woe) an householder.

v the original hoe only, .left the Country.

or, his fruits.

prefer this latter on account of the ex-
planation following :— * go before,' — not
entirely without hope for yon, that yon
may follow, but not necessarily implying
your following. The door of mercy was
not yet shut for them : see John xii. 85 :
Lake xxiii 34. The idea of ' shewing the
way' by being their example, is also in-
cluded. There were publicans among the
disciples, and probably repentant harlots
among the women who followed the Lord.
82.] in the way of righteousness,
not only in the way of God's command*
meats, so often spoken of, bnt in the very
path of ascetic purity which you so much
approve ; yet perhaps it were better to let
the simpler sense here be the predominant
one, and take righteousness for ' repent-
ance/ as Noah is called a preacher of
righteousness (2 Pet. ii. 5) in similar cir-
cumstances, repent afterward are
words repeated from the parable (ver. 29),
and serving to fasten the application on
the hearers.
88 — 46.] Parable of the yixbyabd

1ET OUT TO HUSBANDMEN. Mark xii.

1—12. Luke xx. 9—19. This parable is
in intimate connexion with Isa. v. 1 ff., and
was certainly intended by our Lord as an
express application of that passage to the
Jews of His time. Both St. Mark and St.
Luke open it with a " began to speak . . .,"
as a fresh beginning, by our Lord, of a
series of parables. St. Luke adds, that it
was spoken to the people. Its subject is,

of course, the continued rejection of God's
prophets by the people of Israel, till at
last they rejected and killed Sis only Son.
The householder planted a vineyard : i.e.
* selected it out of all His world, and fenced
it in, and dug a receptacle for the juice
(in the rock or ground, to keep it cool,
into which it flowed from the press above,
through a grated opening), and built a
tower (of recreation — or observation to
watch the crops).' This exactly coincides
with the state of the Jewish nation, under
covenant with God as His people. All
these expressions are in Isaiah v. The
letting out to husbandmen was probably
that kind of letting where the tenant
pays his rent in kind, although the fruits
may be understood of money. God began
about 480 years after the Exodus to send
His prophets to the people of Israel, and
continued even till John the Baptist ; but
all was in vain ; they " persecuted the
prophets," casting them out and putting
them to death. (See Neh. ix. 26: Matt,
xxiii. 81, 87 : Heb. xi. 36—88.) The
different sendings must not be pressed;
they probably imply the fulness and suf
flciency of warnings given, and set forth
the longsuffering of the Householder; and
the increasing rebellion of the husband-
men is shewn by their increasing ill-treat-
ment of the messengers. 87.] See
Luke ver. 18: Mark ver. 6. Our Lord
sets forth His heavenly Father in human
wise deliberating, " What shall I dot"

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148

ST. MATTHEW.

XXI. 38—46

a Pi. 11. 8.

Heb. i. S.
bPa.il. I.

eh. xxtI.Si

xxvil. 1.

John xl. U.

Acta lr. 17.
c oh. xxvi. 00.

Ac Acta 11.

IS.

dActaxlil.«,
xv. 7: xvill.

he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence
my son. 38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they
said x among themselves, ■ This is the hei* ; b come, let us
kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 89 ° And they
caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew
him. *° When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh,
what will he do unto those husbandmen ? 41 They say
unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men,
dand will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen,

42 Jesus
x or, within.

(Luke) and '* it may be they will reverence
him," to signify His gracious adoption, for
man's sake, of every means which may
turn sinners to repentance. The difference
here is fully made between the Son and all
the other messengers ; see Mark, — *' having
yet therefore one Son, his wellbeloved . . :"
and, as Stier remarks, this is the real and
direct answer to the question in ver. 23.
The Son appears here, not in his character
of Redeemer, but in that of a preacher — a
messenger demanding the fruits of the
vineyard. (See ch. iv. 17.) 88. This

is] So Nicodemus, John ill. 2, " we know
that thou art a teacher come from God,"
even at the beginning of His ministry;
how much more then after three yean
spent in His divine working. The latent
consciousness that Jesus was the Messiah,
expressed in the prophecy of Caiaphas
(John xi. 49—52; compare the Thorn
hast said of our ch. xxvi. 64), added no
doubt to the guilt of the Jewish rulers
in rejecting and crucifying Him, however
this consciousness may have been accom-
panied with ignorance of one kind or other
in all of them, — see Acts iii. 17 and note.

the hair] This the Son is in virtue
of Sis human nature : see Heb. i. 1, 2.

come, let us kill him] The very
words of Qen. xxxvii. 20, where Joseph's
brethren express a similar resolution : and
no doubt used by the Lord in reference to
that history, so deeply typical of His re-
jection and exaltation. This resolution
had actually been taken, see John xi. 53 :
and that immediately after the manifesta-
tion of His power as the Son of Qod
in the raising of Lazarus, and also imme-
diately after Caiaphas's prophecy,
let us seise] See John xi. 48. As far as
this, the parable is History: from this
point, Prophecy. 89.] This is partly

to be understood of our Lord being given
up to the heathen to be judged ; bat also
literally, as related by all three Evan-

gelists. See also John xix. 17, and Heb.
xiii. 11, 12. In Mark the order is dif-
ferent, " they killed him, and east him out
of the vineyard " 40, 41.] See Isa. v.

5. All means had been tried, and nothing
but judgment was now left. St. Mark and
St. Luke omit the important words they
say unto him, though St. Luke has given
us the key to them, in telling ub that the
parable was spoken in the hearing of the
people, who seem to have made the answer.
Perhaps however the Pharisees may have
made this answer, having missed, or pre-
tended to miss, the sense of the parable;
but from the strong language used, I in-
cline to the former view. Whichever said
it, it was a self-condemnation, similar to
that in ch. xxvii. 25 : the last form, as
Nitzsch finely remarks (cited by Stier),
of the divine warnings to men, * when they
themselves speak of the deeds which they
are about to do, and pronounce judgment
upon them.' So striking, even up to the
last moment, is the mysterious union of
human free-will with divine foresight (see
Acts ii. 23: Gen.l. 20), that after all other
warnings frustrated, the conscience of the
sinner himself interposes to save him
from ruin. In the original the adverb
rendered "miserably" is that belonging
to the adjective rendered '• wicked" This
could hardly be given in a version in
English: it may be represented by some
such expression as, "He will destroy
them wretchedly, wretches as they are"
The which, applied to persons, is
not equivalent to who : it means, of a kind,
who*, "who" would identify, "which"
classifies. They do not specify who, but
only of what sort, the new tenants will be.
The clause is peculiar to Matthew. We
may observe that our Lord here makes
when the lord . . . cometh coincide with
the destruction of Jerusalem, which is
incontestably the overthrow of the wicked
husbandmen. This passage forms therefore

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XXII. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

149

saith unto them, e Did ye never read in the scriptures, The
stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the
head of the corner : this is the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes? *& Therefore say I unto you,
f the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. ^And
7 whomever * shall fall on this stone shall be broken : but on
whomsoever it shall fall, hit will grind him to powder.
46 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his
parables, they perceived that he spake of them. *• But
when they sought to lay hands on him, l they feared the
multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

XXII. 1And Jesus answered "and spake unto them
7 render, he that hath fallen.

ePs.axvtii.tS-
laa.xxTili.19-
Act» It. 11.
Kph. ii. SO.
lPeiiLfl,7.

fflM.YiU.14

16. Zeeh.
xU.8. Rom.
ix.M. lPet.
U.S.
hIsa.lx.1S.
Dan.lLM.

lTer.11.
Lake viL 16.
John tU. 40.

» Luke xIt. 10.
Ber.xlx.7.
9.

an important key to our Lord's prophecies,
and a decisive justification for those who,
like myself, firmly hold that the coming
of the Lord is in many places to be iden-
tified, primarily, with that overthrow.
43.] A citation from the same
Psalm of triumph from which the multi-
tudes had taken their Hot annas. This
verse is quoted with the same signification
in Acts iv. 11 : 1 Pet. ii. 6, 7, where also
the cognate passage Isa. xxviii. 16 is
quoted, as in Rom. ix. 33. The builders
answer to the husbandmen, and the ad-
dition is made in this changed similitude
to shew them that though they might reject
and kill the Son, yet He would he vic-
torious in the end. the head of the
corner] The comer-stone binds together
both walls of the building ; so Christ unites
Jews and Gentiles in Himself. See the
comparison beautifully followed into detail,
Eph. iL 20—22. On marvellous in
our eyas, compare Acts iv. 13, 14.
43.1 Our Lord here returns to the parable,
and more plainly than ever before an-
nounces to them their rejection by God.
The vineyard is now the kingdom of God.
The nation here spoken of is not the Gen-
tiles in general, but the Church of the truly
faithful, — the "holy nation, peculiar
people " of 1 Pet. ii. 9 : see Acts xv. 14.
44.1 A reference to Isa. viii. 14, 15,
and Dan. h. 44, and a plain identification
of the stone there mentioned with that in
Ps. cxviii. The stone is the whole kingdom
and power of the Messiah summed up in

Himself. he that hath fallen ]

he that takes offence, that makes it a stone
of stumbling, (or perhaps, he that is super-
imposed on it, as a stone in the building :
but not so probably, as the breaking would
want due interpretation,) shall he broken :

see Luke ii. 34: but on whomsoever, as
its enemy, it shall come in vengeance, as
prophesied in Daniel, it shall dash him in
pieces. Meyer maintains that the mean-
ing of the word is not this, but literally
' shall winnow him,' throw him off as chaff.
But the confusion thus occasioned in the
parable is quite unnecessary. . The result
of winnowing is complete separation and
dashing away of the worthless part : and
it is surely far better to understand this
result as the work of the falling of the
stone, than to apply the words to a part
of the operation for which the falling of
a stone is so singularly unsuited.
45, 46.] All three Evangelists have this
addition. St. Mark besides says " and they
left him and went their way," answering
to our ch. xxii. 22. Supposing St. Mark's
insertion of these words to be in the pre*
rise place, we have the following parable
spoken to the people and disciples : see
below.

Chap. XXII. 1-14.] Pxbablb op the
xabbiagkb op the Knra's Son. Peculiar
to Matthew. A parable resembling this
in several particulars occurs in Luke xiv.
15 — 24, yet we must not hastily set it
down as the same. Many circumstances
are entirely different : the locality and oc-
casion of delivery different, and in both
cases stated with precision. And the dif-
ference in the style of the parables is cor-
respondent to the two periods of their ut-
terance. That in Luke is delivered earlier
in our Lord's ministry, when the enmity
of the Pharisees had yet not fully mani-
fested itself : the refusal of the guests is
more courteous, their only penalty, exclu-
sion;— here they maltreat the servants,
and are utterly destroyed. This binds
the parable in close connexion with that

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150

ST. MATTHEW.

XXII.

again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven B is
like unto * a certain king, which made a b marriage for his
son, 3 and sent forth his servants to call them that were
bidden to the wedding : and they would not come. 4 Again,
he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are
bPror.ix.i. bidden, Behold, I have prepared my c dinner: bmy &oxen
and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready : come
unto the marriage. 6 But they made light of it, and went
their ways, one to • his farm, another to his merchandise :
6 and the remnant took his servants, and entreated them
spitefully, and slew them. 7 I But when the king heard

1 literally, was likened. * literally, a man. (which was) a king.

* render, Wedding-feast. N.B. Thie i$ not corrected in verses \ 8, 9, 10:
but it is in the original the same word throughout.

° render, banquet : see note. * render, bulls.

• render, his own. f read, But the king was wroth.

of the wicked husbandmen in the last
chapter, and with thia period of our Lord's
course. 8.] The householder of the

former parable is the King- here, who
makes a marriage for his Son. The word
thus rendered is not always necessarily
« a marriage,' but any great celebration, as
accession to the throne, or coming of age,
Ac. Here however the notion of a mar-
riage is certainly included ; and the inter-
pretation is, the great marriage supper
(Rev. xix. 9) of the Son of God : i. e. His
full and complete union to His Bride the
Church in glory : which would be to the
guests the ultimate result of accepting the
invitation. See Eph. v. 25—27. The dif-
ficulty, of the totality of the guests in this
case constituting the Bride, may be les-
sened by regarding the ceremony as an
enthronization, in which the people are
regarded as being espoused to their prince.
On the whole imagery, compare Ft. xlv.
S.] These servants are not the pro-
phets, not the same as the servants in
ch. xxi. 34, as generally interpreted :— the
parable takes up its ground nearly from
the conclusion of that former, and is alto-
gether a New Testament parable. The
office of these servants was to summon those
who had been invited, as was customary
(see Esth. v. 8 and vi. 14); these being
the Jewish people, who had been before,
by their prophets and covenant, invited.
These first servants are then the first mes-
sengers of the Gospel, — John the Bap-
tist, the Twelve, and the Seventy,— who
preached, saying ' The Kingdom of heaven
ie at hand.' And even our Lord Himself
must in some sort be here included, inas-
much as He took the form of a servant.

and preached this same truth, with how-
ever the weighty addition of Oome unto
Xa. 4.] We now come to a different

period of the Evangelic announcement.
Now, all is ready: the sacrifice, or the
meat for the feast, is slain. We can
hardly help connecting this with the de-
clarations of our Lord in John vi. 51 — 59,
and supposing that this second invitation
is the preaching of the Apostles and Evan-
gelists after the great sacrifice was offered.
That thus the slaying of the Lord is not
the doing of the invited, but is mentioned
as done for the least, is no real difficulty.
Both sides of the truth may be included
in the parable, as they are in Acts ii. 28,
and indeed wherever it is set forth. The
discourse of Peter in that chapter is the
best commentary on " all things are ready,
come to the marriage" The meal desig-
nated is not that which we understand by
dinner, but the meal at noon, with which
the* course of marriage festivities began.
This will give even greater precision to
the meaning of the parable as applying to
these preparatory foretastes of the great
feast, which the Church of God now
enjoys. As the former parable had an
O. T. foundation, so this : viz. Prov. ix.
1 ff. 5, 6.] Two classes are here

represented: the irreligious and careless
people (notice his own farm, bringing out
the selfish spirit), and the rulers, who
persecuted and slew God's messengers.
Stephen,— James the brother of John,
James the Just, and doubtless other of the
Apostles, of whose end we have no certain
account, perished by the hands or instiga-
tion of the Jews : they persecuted Paul
all through his life, and most probably

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2—12.

ST. MATTHEW.

151

thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth chis armies, and0^";1^^

destroyed those murderers, and burned np their city.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but

they which were bidden were not d worthy. 9 Go y e d AdJ'iVi.

therefore into the ? highways, and as many as ye shall

find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out

into the highways, and gathered * together all as many as • J-xulw,

they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was

h furnished with guests.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw '^'i!:!*
there a man f which had not on a wedding garment ; u and *£** •»» '

h render, filled.

11, 12.] Thin second part of the parable is
in direct reference to the word of pro-
phecy, Zeph. i. 7, 8 : " The Lord hath pre-
pared a sacrifice, he hath bid hie guests.
And it shall come to paee in the day of
the Lord 's sacrifice, that Twill punish ....
all such ae are clothed with strange appa-
rel." The coming of the King to see his
guests is the final and separating Judg-
ment of the Church, see ch. xxv. 19, —
when that distinction shall be made, which
God's ministers have no power nor right to
make in admissions into the risible Church.
Yet as Trench remarks (Parables, p. 207),
this coming of the King is not exclusively
the final one, but every trying and sifting
judgment adumbrates it m some measure.
With regard to the wedding gar-
ment, we must not, I think, make too
much of the usually cited Oriental custom
of presenting the guests with such gar-
ments at feasts. For (1) it is not distinctly
proved that such a custom existed; the
passages usually quoted (Gen. xlv. 22:
Judg. xiv. 12: 2 Kings v. 22) are no-
thing to the purpose; 2 Kings x. 22
shews that the worshippers of Baal were
provided with vestments, and at a feast :
and at the present day those who are
admitted to the presence of Royalty in the
East are clothed with a caftan: but all
this does not make good the assumption .*
and (2) even granting it, it is not to be*
pressed, as being manifestly not the salient
point of this part of the parable. The
guest was bound to provido himself with
this proper habit, out of respect to the
feast and its Author : how this was to be
provided, does not here appear, but does
elsewhere. The garment is the imputed
and inherent righteousness of the Lord
Jesus, put on symbolically in Baptism
(Gal. iii. 27), and really by a true and
living faith (ib. ver. 26),— without which

ff see note.

brought him to his death at last : and the
guilt of the death of the Lord abode upon
them (ch. xxvii. 26). They repeatedly
insulted and scourged the Apostles (see
Acts iv. 3; v. 18, 40). 7.] The oc-

currence of this verse before the opening
of the Feast to the Gentiles has perplexed
some interpreters : but it is strictly exact :
for although the Gospel was preached to
the Gentiles forty years before the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem, yet the final rejection
of the Jews and the substitution of the
Gentiles did not take place till that event,
his armies] The Roman armies;
a similar expression for the unconscious
instruments of God's anger is used Isa.
x. 5 ; xiii. 5 : Jer. xxv. 9 : Joel ii. 25.
their city] no longer Sis, but their city.
Compare your house, ch. xxiii. 88. This
is a startling introduction of the interpre-
tation into the parables we knew not
before that they had a city. 8—10.]

On lot worthy, see Acts xiii. 46. ware:
the past tense passes them bv as done
with. The highways here spoken of are
the places of resort at the meetings of
streets, the squares, or confluences of ways.
De Wette and Meyer are wrong in saying
that they are not in the city, 'for that
was destroyed :' it is not the city of the
murderers, but that in which the feast
is supposed to be held, which is spoken of:
'not Jerusalem, but God's world,
bad and good] Both the open sinners and
the morally good together. See ch. xiii.
47, where the net collects of every kind.
Stier remarks, that we might expect,
from ch. xxi. 31, to find the guest who

5r and by is expelled, among the good.
ere, so to speak, the first act of the para-
ble closes ; and here is the situation of the
Church -at this day ;— -collected out of all
the earth, and containing both bad and
good. was filled is emphatic.

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152

ST. MATTHEW.

XXII.

gch.TUI.13.

h Oh. xx. 10,

he saith unto him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither not
having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and [* take him away, and] cast him * into outer dark-
ness; there shall he weeping and gnashing of teeth.
H h por many are called, but few are chosen.

16 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they
might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out
unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying,
Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the
way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man :
for thou regardest not the person of men. J7 Tell us
therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give
tribute unto Csesar, or not ? 18 But Jesus perceived their
wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites ?
19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto
him a * penny, 20 Ami he saith unto them, Whose is this

* omit. k render, denarius.

none can appear before God in His King-
dom of glory; — Heb. xii. 14: Phil. iii.
7, 8 : Epb. iv. 24 : Col. iii. 10 : Bom.
xiii. 14:— which truth could not be put
forward here, but at its subsequent mani-
festation threw its great light over this
and other such similitudes and expres-
sions. This guest imagines hit own gar-
ment will be as acceptable, and therefore
neglects to provide himself. See 1 John
v. 10: Isa. lxiv. 6; lxi. 10: Rev. xix. 8.
Friend] see note on ch. xx. 13.
13, 14.] These servants (diaconoi,
ministers) are not the same as the above,
but the angel*, see ch. xiii. 41, 49. The
« binding of his feet and hands ' has been
interpreted of his being now in the night,
in which no man can work; but I doubt
whether this be not too fanciful. Rather
should we say, with Meyer, that it is to
render his escape from the outer darkness
impossible. In ver. 14 our Lord shews
us that this guest, thus single in the
parable, is, alas, to be the representative
of a numerous class in the visible Church,
who although sitting down as guests
before His coming, have not on the wedding
garment.

15—22.] Reply concerning the law-
fulness of tbibute to Gbsab. Mark
xii. 13—17. Luke xx. 20—26. On the
Herodians, see above, ch. xvi. 6. By the
union of these two hostile parties they per-
haps thought that the " spies " or " sub-
orned person* " (Luke), who were to feign

themselves honest men, Luke xx. 20, would
be more likely to deceive our Lord. For
this also is their flattery here designed.
' The devil never lies so foully, as when he
speaks the truth.' Meyer compares that
other " we know that," John iii. 2. The
application may have been as if to settle a
dispute which had sprung up between the
Pharisees, the strong theocratic repudiators
of Roman rule, and the Herodians, the
hangers-on of a dynasty created by Caesar.
In case the answer were negative, these
last would be witnesses against Him to the
governor (Luke xx. 20); as indeed they
became, with false testimony, when they
could not get true, Luke xxiii. 2 ; in case
it were affirmative, He would be compro-
mised with the Roman conquerors, and
could not be the people's Deliverer, their
expected Messias ; which would furnish
them with a pretext for stirring up the
multitudes against Him (see Deut. xvii.
15). 17.] The tribute here spoken of

was a poll-tax, which had been levied since
Judeea became a province of Rome.
18—22.] Our Lord not only detects their
plot, but answers their question ; and in
answering it, teaches them each a deep
lesson. The tribute money was a

denarius : see on ch. xx. 2. It was a saying
of the Rabbis, quoted byLightfoot and Wet-
stein, that ' wherever any king's money is
current, there that king is lord/ The Lord's
answer convicts them, by the matter of fact
that this money was current among them,

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13—30.

ST. MATTHEW.

153

image and superscription ? 21 They say unto him, Caesar's.

Then saith he unto them, 'Render therefore unto Caesar i <*•«»,«..

' Rom. xili. /•

the things which, are Caesar's ; and unto God the things
that are God's. 2* When they had heard these words,
they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

28 The same day came to him the Sadducees, k which Bay **<*« xxm.s.
Hhat there is no resurrection, and asked him, 2* saying,
Master, 'Moses said, If a man die, having no children, i d.w.ht. b.
his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto
his brother. ^ Now there were with us seven brethren :
and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and,
having no issue, left his wife unto his brother : 26 like-
wise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also. *& Therefore in
the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven ? for
they all had her. 29 Jesus answered and said unto them,
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of
God. 8° For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor
are given in marriage, but are as [m the] angels of God

1 read, saying. m omit.

ask, whether it were lawful for him to pay
the penalty of his adultery.' (Claudius,
cited by Stier.) They had agpin and again
rejected their theocratic inheritance; —
they refused it in the wilderness; — they
would not have Qod to reign over them,
but a king ; — therefore were they subjected
to foreigners (see 2 Chron. xii. 8).
- 88—88.] Reply to the Sadducees

EB8PECTING THE BE8UBBE0TION. Mark

xii. 18— -27. Luke xx. 27—40. From
Acts xziii. 8, the Sadducees denied resur-
rection, angel, and spirits consequently
the immortality of the soul, as well as
the resurrection of the body. This should
be borne in mind, as our Lord's answer is
directed against both errors. It is a mis-
take into which many Commentators have
fallen, to suppose that the Sadducees re-
cognized only the Pentateuch: they ac-
knowledged the prophets also, and rejected
tradition only. 24. raise up teed]

The firstborn son of such a marriage
was reckoned and registered as the son
of the deceased brother. 29, 80.]

Ye do not understand the Scriptures,
which imply the resurrection (ver. 31), nor
the power of God, before which all these
obstacles vanish (ver. 80). See Acts xxvi.
8: Rom. iv. 17; viii. 11: 1 Cor. vi. 14.
Our Lord also asserts here against
them the existence of angels, and reveals

of subjection to (Tiberius) Caesar, and re-
cognition of that subjection : Pay therefore,
He says, the things which are Ossaar's
to Ctatar, and (not perhaps without refer-
ence to the Herodians, but also with much
deeper reference) the things that axe God's,
to God. These weighty words, so much mis-
understood, bind together, instead of sepa-
rating, the political and religious duties of
the followers of Christ. See Jer. xxvii.
4—18 : Rom. xiii. 1 : 1 Pet. ii. 13, 14 :
John xix. 11. The second clause compre-
hends the first, and gives its true founda-
tion: as if it had been, 'this obedience to
Csasar is but an application of the general
principle of obedience to God, of Whom is
all power/ The latter clause thus reaches in-
finitely deeper than the former : just as our
Lord in Luke x. 41, 42 declares a truth
reaching far beyond the occasion of the meal.
Man is the coinage, and bears the image,
of God (Gen. i. 27) : and this image is not
lost by the fall (Gen. be. 6 : Acts xvii. 29 :
James iii. 9. See also notes on Luke xv.
8, 9). We owe then ourselves to God:
and this solemn duty is implied, of giving
ourselves to Him, with all that we have
and are. The Answer also gives them the
real reason why they were now under sub-
jection to Casar : viz. because they had
fallen from their allegiance to Qod. 'The
question was as if an adulterer were to

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154

ST. MATTHEW.

XXII. 31—46.

in heaven. S1 But as touching the resurrection of the
dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you

mio.*°Hd!!'xL by &°&) Mying, 8SJn,Iam the God of Abraham, and the

" God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God

of the dead, but of the living. M And when the multitude

nch.viL*. heard this, n they were astonished at his doctrine.

34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put
the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
36 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a
question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, n which is
the great commandment in the law ? 37 Jesus said unto

°?w!"ixB« k™> ° Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
88 This is the first and great commandment. 89 And the

puv.xix.i8. second is like unto it, p Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
oSV!"*9* thyself. *° * On these two commandments hang all the

tdKES* law and the prophets.

n see note.

to us the similarity of oar future glorified
state to their present one. are u an-

gels of God in heaven] because the risen
will not be in heaven, but on earth. The
Rabbinical decision of a similar question
was, that a woman who had been the wife
of two husbands on earth, is restored in the
next life to the former of them.
81 — 88.] Our Lord does not cite the strong
testimonies of the Prophets, as Isa. xxvi.
19 : Esek. xxxvii. 1—14: Dan. xii. 2, but
says, as in Luke (xx. 87), ' even Moses has
shewn/ Ac., leaving those other witnesses
to be supplied. The books of Moses were
the great and ultimate appeal for all doc-
trine : and thus the assertion of the Resur-
rection comes from the very source whence
their difficulty had been constructed. On
the passage 'itself, and our Lord's inter-
pretation of it, much has been written.
Certain it is, that our Lord brings out
in this answer a depth of meaning in the
words, which without it we could not
discover. Meyer finely says, "Our Lord
here testifies of the 'conscious intent of
God in speaking the words. God uttered
them, He tells us, to Moses, in the con-
sciousness of the still enduring existence of
His peculiar relation to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob." The groundwork of our Lord's ar-
gument seems to me to be this : — The words
' I am thy God ' imply a covenant ; there
is another side to them : " thou art Mine "
follows upon " I am thine." When God
therefore declares that He is the Ood of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He declares

their continuance, as the other parties in
this covenant. It is an assertion which
could not be made of an annihilated being
of the past. And notice also, that Abra-
ham's (&c.) body having had upon it the
seal of the covenant, is included in this.
Stier remarks that this is a weighty testi-
mony against the so-called ' sleep of the
soul ' in the intermediate state. Compare
"for all live unto Him" Luke xx. 88.
Thus the burden of the Law, * I ah the
Lord thy God/ contains in it the seed of
immortality, and the hope of the resur-
rection.

84—40.] RlPLT COVOBBKIK0 TH«
oeeat comCANDMSKT. Mark xii. 28—
84. In the more detailed account of Mark
(Luke has a similar incident in another
place, x. 25), this question does not appear
as that of one maliciously tempting our
Lord : and his seems to me the view to be
taken,— as there could not be any evil
consequences to our Lord, whichever way
He had answered the question. See the
notes there. 85. a lawyer] These

were Mosaic jurists, whose special province
was the interpretation of the Law. Scribe
is a wider term, including them,
tempting] See above. 86. which is the
great commandment] This should more
exactly be rendered, which (what kind of
a) commandment is great in the law!
In Mark, otherwise. 40. the law

and the prophets] in the sense of ch. v. 17 j
vii. 12 : all the details of God's ancient
revelation of His will, by whomsoever made.

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XXIII. 1—3.

ST. MATTHEW.

155

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus
asked them, ** saying, What think ye ° of Christ ? whose
son is he ? They say unto him, The son of David. tt He
saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him
Lord, saying, ** r The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on r J&g-Jj

Acta il. M.

my nght hand, till I P make thine enemies thy footstool ? *& If hEK. »',*■
David then call him Lord, how is he his son? ** • And no • fiiSliV.s.
man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any •
man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

XXIII. 1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his
disciples, *6aying, aThe scribes and the Pharisees sit in • *•*•"• 7-
Moses' seat : * all therefore whatsoever they bid you
[* observe], that observe and do; but do not ye after their

• render, the Christ ?

P read, put thine enemies beneath thy feet ? * omit.

Matthew having arranged the scattered
sayings of the Lord into longer discourses,
see Introduction to Matthew. A trace of
this discourse is found in Mark xii. 38 —
40: Lake xx. 46 — 47. In the latter place
' it is spoken to the disciples, in hearing
of the crowd : which (see ver. 8 ff.) is the
exact account of the matter. It hears
many resemblances to the Sermon on the
Mount, and may be regarded as the so-
lemn close, as that was the opening, of
the Lord's public teaching. It divides it-
self naturally into three parts : (1) intro-
ductory description of the Scribes and
Pharisees, and contrast to Christ's dis-
ciples (w. 1— 12; : (2) solemn denuncia-
tions of their hypocrisy (tv. 14—83) : (8)
conclusion, and mournful farewell to the
temple and Jerusalem. *.] Moses* seat
ie the office of judge and lawgiver of the
people: see Exod. ii. 13—26: Deut. xvii.
9 — 13. Our Lord says, ' In so far as the -
Pharisees and Scribes enforce the law and
precepts of Moses, obey them : but imitate
not their conduct.' The verb ren-

dered sit must not Depressed too strongly,
as conveying blame, — • have seated them-
selves ;' — it is merely stated here as a mat-
ter of fact. Vv. 8, 10 however apply to
their leadership as well as their faults;
and declare that among Christians there
are to be none sitting on the seat of Christ.
S. all therefore] The therefore here
is very significant: — because they sit on
Moses' seat : and this clears the meaning,
and shews it to be, 'all things which
they, as successors of Moses, out of his
law, command you, do;' there being a
distinction between their lawful teaching
as expounders of the law, and their frivo-

41—46.] Thb Pharisees baffled by

A QUESTION RESPECTING CHBI8T AND

David. Mark xii. 85—37. Luke xx. 41—
44. [See also Acts ii. 84.] Our Lord
now questions his adversaries (according
to Matt. :— in Mark and Luke He asks
the question not to, but concerning the
Scribes or interpreters of the law), and
again convicts them of ignorance of the
Scriptures. From the universally recog-
nized title of the Messiah as the Son of
David, which by his question He elicits
from them, He takes occasion to shew
them, who understood this title in a mere
worldly political sense, the difficulty arising
from David's own reverence for this his
Son : the solution lying in the incarnate
Godhead of the Christ, of which they were
ignorant. 43. In spirit] i.e. by the

inspiration of the Holy Spirit : « by (in)
the Holy Ghost," Mark. This is a weighty
declaration by our Lord of the inspiration
of the prophetic Scriptures. St. Mark (ver.
97) adds to this "the common people
heard him gladly." Here then end the
endeavours of His adversaries to entrap
Him by questions : they now betake them-
selves to other means. " A new scene, as
it were, henceforth opens." Bengel.

Chap. XXIII. 1— 30.] Denunciation
of the Scribes and Pharisees. Pe-
culiar to Matthew. 1.] Much of the
matter of this discourse is to be found in
Luke xi. and xiii. On its appearance there,
see the notes on those passages. There
can, I think, be no doubt that it was deli-
vered, as our Evangelist here relates it,
all at one time, and in these the last days
of our Lord's ministry. On the notion
entertained by some recent critics, of St.

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156

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIII.

bSSnU*17' works: for bthey say, and do not. . *cFor they bind
0aS?TiT'il°' heavy burdens [rand grievous to be borne], and lay them
on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move
dch.Ti.i,s,», them with one of theiif fingers. 6 But dall their works
they do for to be seen of men : e they make broad their
phylacteries, and enlarge * the border* of their* garment*,
6 and love the uppermost * rooms at feasts, and the chief
seats in the synagogues, 7 and greetings in the markets,
and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 8 f But be not ye
called Rabbi : for one is your Master [* even Chrisf] ; and
all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon
the earth : for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

16.

e Num. xt. 88.
DkuttLS:
xxil. 19.
Prov. ill. S.

fjame» 111.1.
Me I Cor. i.
14. IPet.T.
8.

T omitted in some ancient authorities.

• literally, their hems. * render, place.

11 omit.

Ions traditions superadded thereto, and
blamed below. 4.] The warning was,

imitate them not— -for they do not them-
selves what they enjoin on others. And
this verse must be strictly connected
with ver. 3. The burdens then are
not, as so often misinterpreted, human
traditions and observances; — but the
severity of the law, which they enforce
on others, but do not observe (see Rom.
ii. 21—23): answering to the weightier
matters of the law of ver. 28. The
irksomeness and unbearableness of these
rites did not belong to the Law in itself,
as rightly explained, but were created by
the rigour and ritualism of these men, who
followed the letter and lost the spirit ; who
spent all their labour in enforcing and am-
plifying' ceremonies. 5 — 7.] But what-
ever thev do perform, has but one motive.
phylacteries were strips of parch-
ment with certain passages of Scripture,
viz. Exod. xiii. 11—16 and 1—10 : Dent,
xi. 13—21; vi. 4 — 9, written On them,
and worn on the forehead between the
eyes, on the left side next the heart, and
on the left arm. The name in the text
was given because they were considered
as charms. They appear not to have
been worn till after the captivity; and
are still in use among the rabbinical Jews.
Their use appears to have arisen from a
superstitious interpretation of Exod. xiii.
9 : Deut. vi. 8, 9. See Joseph. Antt. iv.
8. 13. The hems or fringes, were com-
manded to be worn for a memorial, Num.
xv. 38. See note on ch. ix. 20.

6, 7.] See Mark xii. 38, 39 : Luke xx.
46, 47. On the uppermost place at

feasts, see Luke xiv. 7. 8—10.] The

prohibition is against loving, and in any-

religious matter, using such titles, signify-
ing dominion over the faith of others. It
must be understood in the spirit and not in
the letter. Paul calls Timotheus his ' son '
in the faith, 1 Tim. i. 2, and exhorts the
Corinthians (1 Cor. xi. 1) to be followers
of him as he of Christ. To understand
and follow such commands in the slavery
of the letter, is to mil into the very Pha-
risaism against which our Lord is utter-
ing the caution. See (e. g.) Barnes's note
here. Eabbi: i. e. 'my master:' an

expression used, and reduplicated as here,
by scholars to their masters, who were never
called by their own name by their scholars.
So the Lord says, John xiii. 13, "ye call
me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for
so I am" The Teacher is probably not
Christ, as supplied here in the received
text, but the Holy Spirit (see John xiv.
26 : Jer. xxxi. 33, 34 : Ezek. xxxvi. 26,
27), only not here named, because this
promise was only given in private to the
disciples. If this be so, we have God, in
His Triunity, here declared to ub as the
only Father, Master, and Teacher of Chris-
tians ; the only One, in all these relations,
on whom they can rest or depend. They
are all brethren : all substantially equal —
none by office or precedence nearer to God
than another; none standing between his
brother and God. * And the duty of all
Christian teachers is to bring their hearers
to the confession of the Samaritans in John
iv. 42 : " Now we believe, not because of
thy saying, for we have heard Him our-
selves, and know that this is the Saviour
of the world." ' 9.] Literally, name

not any Father of yon on earth; no
'Abba' or 'Papa' (see the account of the
funeral of John Wesley, Coke and More's

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-16.

ST. MATTHEW.

157

10 Neither be ye called T masters : for one is your w Master,
even Christ. n But *he that is greatest among you shall****" ***•
be your * servant. 12 h And whosoever shall exalt himself h p£y?xt*.m\
shall be abased: and he that shall humble himself shall be £&a"v.ui

_ , ' XYlii-14.

PXalted James iv.C.

CJUUtCU. lPet.T.5.

13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites I
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 7 against men : for
ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that
are entering to go in. ■ [14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pha-
risees, hypocrites I xfor ye devour widows' houses, and for a "jgtSJ;*-
pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the
* greater damnation^ 16 Woe unto you, scribes and Pha-
risees, hypocrites ! for ye compass sea and land to make
one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold
more the a child of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you,
k ye blind guides, which say, • Whosoever shall swear by k*^14-
the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear bylchTM*M-

v render, leaders. w render, leader.

z render, ministering servant. See note.

7 literally, before men : i.e. in their faces. * omit.

• render, son.

Life, p. 441, and the opening of the Au-
thor's dedication of the hook). 11.]
It may serve to shew us how little the
letter of a precept has to do with its true
observance, if we reflect that he who of all
the Heads of sects has most notably vio-
lated this whole command, and caused
others to do so, calls himself ' serous ser-
vorum Dei * («' servant of the servants of
God").— It must be noted (see margin)
that the word here rendered '• servant " in
the A. V., is not that usually so translated
(doulos), which properly means slave or
bondsman : bnt diaconos, which is in the
same version rendered minister in chap. xz.
26. 12.] This often-repeated saying
points here not only to the universal cha-
racter of God's dealings, bnt to the speedy
humiliation of the lofty Pharisees ; and as
such finds a most striking parallel in Ezek.
xxi. 26, 27. 13.1 In Luke xi. 52 it is
added "ye have taken away the key of
knowledge" — the Key being, not the Key
of i. e. admitting to, Knowledge, but the
Key which is the Knowledge itself the true
simple interpretation of Scripture, which
would have admitted them, and caused
them to admit others, into the Kingdom of
Heaven, by the recognition of Him of whom
the Scriptures testify; whereas now by
their perverse interpretations they had shut

out both themselves -and others from it*
See a notable instance of this latter in
John ix. 24. They shut the door as it were
in men's faces who were entering. [On
the interpolated ver. 14, see notes on Mark
(xii. 40). It is wanting in almost all the
oldest authorities. It appears to have
been inserted here by the copyists from
Mark, as above, or from Luke xx. 47.]
15.] And with all this betrayal of
your trust as the teachers of Israel (John
lif. 10 literally), as if all your work at
home were done. This was their work of
supererogation — not commanded them, nor
in the spirit of their law. The Lord speaks
not here of those pious Godfearing men,
who were found dwelling among the Jews,
favouring and often attending their wor-
ship—but of the proselytes of righteous-
ness, so called, who by persuasion of the
Pharisees, took on them the whole Jewish
law and its observances. These were rare
—and it was to the credit of our nature
that they were. For what could such a
proselyte, made by such teachers, become ?
A disciple of hypocrisy merely— neither a
sincere heathen nor a sincere Jew— doubly
the child of hell : condemned by the reli-
gion which he had left — condemned again
by that which he had taken. 16—22.]

The Lord forbade all swearing to His own

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158 ST. MATTHEW. XXIII.

the gold of the temple, he is a debtor, 17 Ye fools, and

mExod.OT. blind: for D whether is greater, the gold, mor the temple

that • sanctifieth the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear

hy the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever & sweareth by

the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 19 Ye [e fools and]

nExod.«tx. jjjjj^ : for D whether is greater, the gift, or the "altar that

sanctifieth the gift ? ** Whoso therefore f shall swear by

the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And

whoso f shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by

0 ifWtoSL him that 8 ° dwelleth therein. **> And he that shall swear

Sis:*" by heaven, sweareth by * the throne of God, and by him

CXXXii.14. J ? J J TIL

pShlJ!"aJ: thatsitteth thereon. M Woe unto you, scribes and Pha-

Aeti *«.«. rig^g^ hypocrites! for ye *pay tithe of mmt and anise and

* hSKS11 cummin, and « have omitted the weightier matters of the

Stall!;8, law, judgment; mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have

done, and not to leave the other undone. ** Ye blind

guides, i which strain at a gnat, and k swallow a camel.

rxarkTU.4. 25 *Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! rfor

D t. e. which of the two. c read, hath sanctified.

d render, shall swear. • omitted in many ancient authorities.

' render, hath SWOrn. 8 many ancient authorities read, dwelt.

ft render, tithe (the verb) . * render, straining out the.

k render, swallowing the. •

disciple*, ch. v. 84; and by the very same oath, but that all these things are called

reasoning— because every oath is really and in to do so because of sanctity belonging to

eventually an oath by God— shews these them, of which God is the primary source:

Pharisees the validity and solemnity of —the order likewise of the thing* hal-

every oath. This subterfuge became noto- lowed, being, in their foolish estimate of

rious at Rome. See citation in my Or. Test, them, reversed : for the gold must be lev

The reading dwelt in ver. 21 is than the temple which hallows it, and the

remarkable; God did not then dwell in gift than the altar— not as if this wereof

the Temple, nor had He done so since the any real consequence, except to shew their

Captivity. 28, 84.] It was doubtful, folly—for w. 20—22, every oath is really

whether Levit. xxvii. 30 applied to every an oath by God, But these men were

smallest garden herb : but the Pharisees, servants only of the temple {"your houtt,

in their over-rigidity in externals, stretched ver. 88) and the altar, and had forgotten

it to this, letting go the heavier, more dif- God. The straining the gnat is not *

ncult, and more important (see ver. 4) mere proverbial saying. The Jews (at do

matters of the Law. In the threefold now the Buddists in Ceylon and HindostsnJ

enumeration, our Lord refers to Micah vt strained their wine, Ac., carefully that wej

8 (see also Hosea xii. 6) — where to do might not violate Levit. xi. 20, 23, *J»

justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly 42 (and, it might be added, Levit xvu.

with God, are described as being better 10—14). The " strain at a gnat" m «J

than all offerings. these —these last, present auth. vers, for " strain out a gnss

are the great points on which your exer- of the earlier English vsa, seems not w>

tions should have been spent — and then, if have been a mistake, as sometimes sap-

for the sake of these they be observed, the posed, but a deliberate alteration, mesn-

others should not be neglected. The gold ing, "

here is probably not the ornamental gold, rence <

buttheCorban — the sacred treasure. They opposed, -. ^ .mmvm.w - — ,

were fools and blind, not to know and see, joined with the other as being equally an-

that no inanimate thing can witness an clean. 86—26.] This woe is foondea

-, " strain [out the wine] at [the occur-
ce of] a gnat." The camel is not onJy
fosed, as of immense site, but tf siso
^ -««- the other as being oqoaUy «*"
26—26.] This woe is fooi

Digitized by VjOOQIC

17—84. ST. MATTHEW. 159

ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter,
but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou
blind Pharisee, cleanse first 1 that which is within the cup
and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! "for ■aouxxui.s.
ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones,
and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly
appear righteous unto men, but within ye are* full of
hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! because ye build the tombs of the
prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we
would not have been partakers with them in the blood of
the prophets. 81 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto your-
selves, that * ye are the m children of them which n killed %\£*vt£u.
the prophets. 83 n Fill ye up °then the measure of your*aiitxT.i«.
fathers. " Ye serpents, ye P Y generation of vipers, how can T^J;ii,.rs
ye escape the 4 damnation of hell ? xli***'

8* w Wherefore behold I send unto you prophets, and wise W*•XT|•,4'

1 render, the inside of. m render, sons. n render, murdered.

0 render, also. P render, offspring. * render, judgment.

not on a literally, bat a typically denoted persecutors, forma the matter of the last
practice of the Pharisees. Our Lord, in Woe. The burden of this hypocrisy is, that
the ever-deepening denunciation of His they, being one with their fathers, treading
discourse, has now arrived at the delinea- in their steps, but vainly disavowing their
tion of their whole character and practices deeds, were, by the very act of building
by a parabolic similitude. are fall of] the sepulchres of the prophets, joined with
The straining out of the gnat is a cleansing their prophet-persecuting acts, convicting
pertaining to the outside, as compared with themselves of continuity with their fathers'
the inner composition of the vine itself, wickedness. See, as clearly setting forth •
of which the cup is full : see Rev. xviii. 3. this view, Luke xi. ' Instead of the pent-
The exterior is not in reality pure when tent confession, " We have sinned, we and
the interior is foul : it is not * a clean cup,9 our fathers," this last and worst generation
unless both exterior and interior be clean, in vain protests against their participation
Observe, the emphasis is on be : u that its in their fathers' guilt, which they are mean-
exterior also may not appear to be, but while developing to the utmost, and filling
really become, pure." 27.] The Jews up its measure (Actsvii. 52).' Stier. Again
used once a year (on the fifteenth of the notice the emphasis, which is now markedly
month Adar) to whitewash the spots where on sons ; thus bringing out that relation in
graves were, that persons might not be all its fulness and consequences. 88.]
liable to uncleanness by passing over them Fill ye up also (as well as thev) the me*-
(see Num. xix. 16). This goes to the root sura (of iniquity) of your fathers,
of the mischief at once : "your heart is not Yer. 83 repeats almost verbatim the first
a temple of the living God, but a grave of denunciation of the Baptist— in this, the last
pestilent corruption : not a heaven, but a discourse of the Lord : thus denoting the
hell. And your religion is but the white- unchanged state of these men, on whom the
wash — hardly skin-deep/' 29—88.] whole preaching of repentance had now been
The guilt resting on these present Fhan- expended. One weighty difference however
sees, from being the last in a progressive there is : then it was, " who hath warned
series of generations of such hypocrites and you to flee V the wonder was, how they fa-
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160

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIII. 35—89.

xia\iSil men> an^ scribes: and xsome of them ye shall kill and
yeW. crucify; and ^some of them shall ye scourge in your
« St'iym. synagogues, and persecute them from city to city : 35 z that
**• upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the

*?5ohn'iH.ii. earth, •from the blood of righteous Abel unto b the blood of
bJSf»;«i. Zacharias son of Baraohias, whom ye slew between the
temple and the altar. ^ Verily I say unto you, All these

thought themselves of .escaping— now, how
■hall ye escape 1 On serpents, see Rev.
xii. 9. 34.] From the similar place in

the former discourse (Lnke xi. 49, see notes
there) it would appear that the wherefore
refers to the whole last denunciation: —
* since ye are bent upon filling up the iniqui-
ties of your fathers, in God's inscrutable pur-
poses ye shall go on rejecting His messen-
gers.' Notice the difference between " the
wisdom of God " in Luke xi. 49, and I, with
its emphasis, here. These words are no-
where written in Scripture, nor is it neces-
sary to suppose that to be our Lord's mean-
ing. He speaks this as Head of His Church,
of those whom He was about to send : see
Acts xiii. 1 : 1 Cor. xii. 8 : Eph. iii. 5. He
cannot, as some think, include Himself
among those whom He sends — the Jews
may have crucified many Christian teachers
before the destruction of Jerusalem. And
Eusebius relates from Hegesippus the cru-
cifixion of Symeon son of Clopas, in the
reign of Trajan. The and takes out the
"crucify" the special, from the "kill,"
the general; with, of course, somewhat of
emphasis : "yea, and even crucify" The
prophets were the Apostles, who, in rela-
tion to the Jews, were such — the wise
men, Stephen and such like, men full of
the Holy Ghost— the scribes, Apollos, Paul
(who indeed was all of these together), and
such. On soourge in your synagogues,
see Acts v. 40 ; xxii. 19 ; xxvi. 11.
35.] that, not 'in such a way that,* as
some : but strictly in order that,
righteous (or innocent) blood is a common
expression in the 0. T. See 2 Kings xxi.
16; xxiv. 4: Jer. xxvi. 15; and more
especially Lam. iv. 13, which perhaps our
Lord referred to in speaking this.

all the blood] Thus in Babylon, Rev.

xviii. 24, is found the blood of all that
were slain upon the earth. Every such
signal judgment is the judgment for a
series of long- crying crimes — and these
judgments do not exhaust God's anger,
Isa. ix. 12, 17, 21. The murder of Abel
was the first in the strife between un-
righteousness and holiness, and as these
Jews represent, in their conduct both in
former times and now, the murderer of the

flint, they must bear the vengeance of the
whole in God's day of wrath. Who

Zacharias son of Baraohias is has been
much disputed. We may conclude with
certainty that it cannot be (as Augustine
and Greswell suppose) a future Zacharias,
mentioned by Josephus, as son of Baruch,
and slain in the temple just before the de-
struction of Jerusalem — for our Lord evi-
dently speaks of an event past, and never
prophesies in this manner elsewhere. Ori-
gen has preserved a tradition, that Zacha-
rias father of John the Baptist was slain
by them in the temple ; but in the absence
of all other authority, this must be sus-
pected as having arisen from the difficulty
of the allusion here. Most likely (see
Lightfoot in loc., and note on Luke xi. 49)
it is Zacharias the son of Jehoiada, who
was killed there, 2 Chron. xxiv. 21, and of
whose blood the Jews had a saying, that
it never was washed away till the temple
was burnt at the captivity. ion of

Baraohias does not occur in Luke xi. 51,
and perhaps was not uttered by the Lord
Himself, but may have been inserted by
mistake, as Zachariah the prophet was
son of Barachiah, see Zech. i. 1.
between the temple and the altar] He
was killed in the priest's court, where the
altar of burnt-offerings was. On ver. 36,
see note on ch. xxiv. 34. It is no objec-
tion to the interpretation there main-
tained, that the whole period of the Jewish
course of crime is not filled up by it:
the death of Abel can by no explanation
be brought within its limits or responsi-
bility ; and our Lord's saying reaches far
deeper than a mere announcement of their
responsibility for what they themselves had
done. The Jews stood in the central point
of Gfod's dealings with men ; and as they
were the chosen for the election of grace,
so, rejecting God and His messengers,
they became, in an especial and awful
manner, vessels of wrath. Our Lord

mentions this last murder, not as being
the last even before His own day, but
because it was connected specially with
the cry of the dying man, * The Lord look
upon it and require it' Compare Gen.
iv. 10. This death of Zacharias was the

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XXIV. 1—3.

ST. MATTHEW.

161

things shall come upon this generation. 8? c O Jerusalem, •i^touiLH.
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, d and stohest them d JgfJJ;
which are sent unto thee, how often would e I have gathered •?fl5LXJCdl-
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens
'under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your'^i"-8'
house is left unto you desolate. 89For I say unto you,
Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, * Blessed is g5uh?5!!».
he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

XXIV. xAnd Jesus went out, and departed from the
temple : and his disciples came to him for to shew him the
buildings of the temple. 2 And r Jesus said unto them,
See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, * There 'JSffl;
shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall JXkiV&U:
not be thrown down.

8 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disoiples

r read, he answered and said.

last in the arrangement of the Hebrew
Canon of the O. T., though chronologically
that of Urijah, Jer. xxvi. 28, was later.
37.] These words were before spoken
by our Lord, Luke xiiL 34 : see notes there,
and compare ch. xxiv. 28. how often

would I hare gathered must be under-
stood of all the messages of repentance and
mercy sent by the prophets, for our Lord's
words embrace the whole time comprised
in the historic survey of ver. 35, as well
as His own ministry. On the similitude,
see Dent, xxxii. 11 : Ps. xvii. 8 ; xxxvi. 7 ;
lvii. 1 ; lxi. 4 : Isa. xxxi. 5 : Mai. iv. 2.
ye would not] See Isa. xxviii. 12; xxx. 15.
The tears of our Lord over the perverse-
ness of Jerusalem are witnesses of the free-
dom of man* $ will to resist the grace of
God.

38, 3d.] This is our Lord's last and
solemn departure from the temple — the
true "Let us depart hence." your

house— no more Gotfs, but your house
— said primarily of the temple,— then of
Jerusalem, — and then of the whole land in
which ye dwelL Ye shall not see me —
He did not shew Himself to all the people
after His resurrection, but only to chosen
witnesses, Acts x. 41. till ye shall

say] until that day, the subject of all
prophecy, when your repentant people shall
turn with true and loyal Hosannas and
blessings to greet ' Him whom they have
pierced :' see Deut. iv. 30, 31 : Hosea iii.
4, 6: Zech. xii. 10; xiv. 8—11. Stier
well remarks, 'He who reads not this in the
prophets, reads not yet the prophets aright.'
Chap. XXIV. 1—51.] Pbophxcy op
Vol. I.

His coming, and op the times op the
ran. Mark xiii. 1—37. Lukexxi. 5— 36.
Matt, omits the incident of the widow's
mite, Mark xii. 41—44. Luke xxi. 1—4.
1, 2.] St. Mark expresses their re-
marks on the buildings ; see note there : —
they were probably occasioned by ver. 38
of the last chapter. Josephus writes,
"CiBsar gave orders to pull down the
whole city and the temple .... and all
the area of the city was so levelled by the
workmen, that a traveller would never
believe that it had been inhabited."
8.] From Mark we learn that it was Peter
and James and John and Andrew who
asked this question. With regard to the
question itself, we must, I think, be care-
ful not to press the clauses of it too mucb,
so as to make them bear separate meanings
corresponding to the arrangements of our
Lord's discourse. As expressed in the
other Evangelists, the question was- con-
cerning the time, and the sign, of these
things happening, viz. the overthrow of
the temple and desolation of Judaea, with
which, in the then idea of the Apostles,
our Lord's coming and the end of the
world were connected. Against this mis-
take He warns them, w. 6, 14, — Luke
ver. 24,— and also in the two first parables
in our ch. xxv. For the understand-

ing of this necessarily difficult prophetic
discourse, it must be borne in mind that
the whole is spoken in the pregnant lan-
guage of prophecy, in which various fulfil-
ments are involved. (1) The view of tbe
Jewish Church and its fortunes, as repre-
senting the Christian Church and its his-

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162

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIV.

came unto him privately, saying, Tell ns, when shall these
things be ? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world ? * And Jesus answered and said

c jJJSRui1" unto them, b Take heed that no man deceive you. 6 c For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am * Christ ; d and
shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and
rumours of wars : see that ye be not troubled : for all these

• ichron.^ things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For
nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king-
■ render, the Christ.

xxtil. 81,
ver. it.
d TflT. 11.

ZMh.xlr.lt.

tory, ib one key to the interpretation of
this chapter. Two parallel inter-

pretation* run through the former part as
far aa ver. 28 ; the destruction of Jerusa-
lem and the final judgment being both
enwrapped in the words, but the former,
in this part of the chapter, predominating.
Even in this part, however, we cannot tell
how applicable the warnings given may
be to the events of the last times, in which
apparently Jerusalem is again to play so
distinguished a part. From ver. 28, the
lesser subject begins to be swallowed up
by the greater, and our Lord's second
coming to be the predominant theme, with
however certain hints thrown back as it
were at the event which was immediately
in question : till, in the latter part of the
chapter and the whole of the next, the
second advent, and, at last, the final judg-
ment ensuing on it, are the subjects.
(2) Another weighty matter for the under-
standing of this prophecy is, that (see
Mark xiii. 32) any obscurity or conceal-
ment concerning the time of the Lord's
second coming, must be attributed to the
right cause, which we know from His own
mouth to be, that the divine Speaker
Himself, in His humiliation, did not know
the day nor the hour. All that He had
heard of the Father, He made known unto
His disciples (John xv. 15) : but that which
the Father kept in His own power (Acts
i. 7), He did not in His abased humanity
know. He told them the attendant cir-
cumstances of His coming; He gave them
enough to guard them from error in sup-
posing the day to be close at hand, and
from carelessness in not expecting it as
near. Regarding Scripture prophecy as I
do as a whole, and the same great process
of events to be denoted by it all, it will be
but waste labour to be continually at issue,
in the notes of this and the succeeding
chapter, with those who hold that the
Gospel prophecies are inconsistent, in
their description of the end, with those
after the Ascension, and those again with

the millennial ones of the Apocalypse.
How untenable this view is, I hope the
following notes will shew ; but to be con-
tinually meeting it, is the office of polemic,
not of exegetic theology. 4, 6.] Our

Lord does not answer the when, but by
admonitions not to be deceived. See a
question similarly answered, Luke xiii. 23,
24. For many . . . ] This was the

first danger awaiting them : not of being
drawn away from Christ, but of imagining
that these persons were Himself. Of such
persons, before the destruction of Jerusa-
lem, we have no distinct record; doubtless
there were such : but (see above) I believe
the prophecy and warning to have a fur-
ther reference to the latter times, in which
its complete fulfilment must be looked for.
The persons usually cited as fulfilling this
(Theudas, Simon Magus, Barchochab, Ac.)
are all too early or too late, and not cor-
respondent to the condition, in My name,
* with My name as the ground of their
pretences.' See Greswell on the Parables, v.
880 note. St. Luke gives an addition (ver.
8) to the speech of the mlse Christ*, " and
the time is at hand." 6—8.1 wan

and rumours of wart there certainly were
during this period; but the prophecy must
be interpreted rather of those of which the
Hebrew Christians would be most likely
to hear as a cause of terror. Such un-
doubtedly were the three threats of war
against the Jews by Caligula, Claudius,
and Nero ; of the first of which Josephus
savs, " that it would have brought exter-
mination to the Jewish nation, had it not
been for Caligula's death." Luke couples
with wars "commotions," — and to this
nation against nation seems also to point.
There were serious disturbances, — (1) at
Alexandria, which gave rise to the com-
plaint against and deposition of Flaccus,
and Philo's work against him (aj>. 88), in
which the Jews as a nation were the
especial objects of persecution; (2) at
Seleucia about the same time, in which
more than 60,000 Jews were killed; (8)

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4—11.

ST. MATTHEW.

163

dom : and there shall be famines [* and pestilences], and tc&&l£ <80s
earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning fJ.Vi: tff
of * sorrows. 8 rThen shall they deliver you up to be yj^1^
afflicted, and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of allgeh.xt.6:

10 And then shall many g be srfmAiit

J It. 10, 18.

offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one^j1^^

nations for my name's sake.

another.

11 h And many false prophets shall rise, and * shall 1 1 Tim. w.!i.

* omit.

at Jamnia, a city on the coast of Judaea
near Joppa. Many other such national
tumults are recorded by Josephns. In
one place he calls the sedition a preface of
the siege, famine, and pestilence, which
is conpled to it in Luke, are usual com-
panions. With regard to the first, Gres-
well shews that the famine prophesied of
in the Acts (zi. 28) happened in the ninth
of Claudius, a.d. 49. It was great at
Rome, — and therefore probably Egypt and
Africa, on which the Romans depended so
much for supplies, were themselves much
affected by it. Suetonius speaks of con-
tinual droughts; and Tacitus of dearth
of crops, and thence famine, about the
same time. There was a famine in Judaea
in the reign of Claudius (the true date of
which however Mr. Greswell believes to be
the third of Nero), mentioned by Josephns.
And as to pestilences, though their occur-
rence might, as above, be inferred from
the other, we have distinct accounts of a
pestilence at Rome (a.d. 65) in Suetonius
and Tacitus, which in a single autumn
carried off 30,000 persons at Rome. But
such matters as these are not often related
by historians, unless of more than usual
severity. earthquakes] The principal

earthquakes occurring between this pro-
phecy and the destruction of Jerusalem
were, (1) a great earthquake' in Crete,
a.d. 46 or 47; (2) one at Rome on the
day when Nero assumed the manly toga,
a.d. 51; (3) one at Apamsea in Phrygia,
mentioned by Tacitus, A.D. 53 ; (4) one at
Laodicea in Phrygia, a.d. 60 ; (5) one in
Campania. Seneca, in the year a.d. 58,
writes : — " How often have cities of Asia
and Achsea fallen with one fatal shock!
how many cities have been swallowed up
in Syria, how many in Macedonia ! How
often has Cyprus' been wasted by this
calamity ! how often has Paphos become
a ruin! News has often been brought
us of the demolition of whole cities at
v once." The prophecy, mentioning in

divers places (place for place, — i. e. here
and there, each in its particular locality;
as we say, " up and down "), does not seem

u see note.

to imply that the earthquakes should be in
Judaea or Jerusalem. We have an account
of one in Jerusalem, in Josephus, which
Mr. Greswell (as above) places about Nov.
a.d. 67* On the additions in Luke xxi.
11, see notes there; and on this whole
passage see the prophecies in 2 Chron. xv.
5—7, and Jer. li. 45, 46. the begin-

ning of sorrows (literally of birth pangs)]
in reference to the regeneration (ch. xix.
28), which is to precede the consummation
of this age. So Paul in Rom. viii. 22, the
whole creation . . . travaileth together until
now. The death-throes of the Jewish state
precede the 'regeneration' of the universal
Christian Church, as the death-throes of
this world the new heavens and new earth.
9—13.] Then, at this time,— during
this period, not ' after these things have
happened.' These words serve only defi-
nitely to fix the time of the indefinite
then, here and in ver. 10. The then in
ver. 14 is, from the construction of the
sentence, more definite. For kill yon,
Luke has some of you shall they cause to
bt put to death, viz. the Apostles. This
sign was early given. James the brother
of John was put to death, a.d. 44 : Peter
and Paul (traditionally) and James the
Lord's brother, before the destruction of
Jerusalem: and possibly others. ye

shall be hated] See Acts xxviii. 22. Taci-
tus says that "Nero, for the conflagration
of Rome, persecuted the Christians, 'a race
of men detested for their crimes :' also see
1 Pet. ii. 12; iii. 16; iv. 14—16. In
chap. x. 22, from which these verses are
repeated, we have only "of all" (men) —
here nations is added, giving particularity
to the prophecy. 10.] See 2 Tim. iv.

16, and the repeated warnings against
apostasy in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The persons spoken of in this verse are
Christians. Tacitus says, that the first
apprehended by Nero confessed, and then
a great multitude were apprehended by
their information, xv. 44. On offended,
see note, ch. xi. 6. On hate one
another, compare the deadly hatred borne
to St. Paul and his work by the Judaizers.
2

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164

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIV.

deceive many. 12 And because iniquity T shall abound, the
k h£\u\ 14. l°ve of w many shall wax cold. 13 k But he that x shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved. M And this l gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 m 'VYhen ye therefore shall see the abomination of de-
solation, spoken of by B Daniel the prophet, 7 stand in the

T render, hath abounded. w render, the many ; t. e. most men.

z render, hath endured. 7 render, standing.

Kav. ii. 10.
loh.tT.»>
ix.86.

m Rom. x. IS.

Col. 1. «, ft.

nDAH.iz.S7i

SU.ll.

In the Apocryphal works called the Cle-
mentines, which follow teaching similar to
that of the factions adverse to Paul in the
Corinthian Church, he is hinted at under
the name "the enemy" (See Stanley,
Essays on Apostolic Age, p. 877.) These
Judaizing teachers, among others, are
meant hy the false prophets, as also that
plentiful crop of heretical teachers which
sprang up every where. with the good seed
of the Gospel when first sown. See espe-
cially Acts zx. 30: Gal. i. 7—9: Bom.
xvi. 17, 18 : Col. ii. 17— end : 1 Tim. i.
6, 7, 20; vi. 3-5, 20, 21 : 2 Tim. ii. 18;
iii. 6—8 : 2 Pet. ii. (and Jude) : 1 John
ii. 18, 22, 23, 26; iv. 1, 3: 2 John 7:
false apostles, 2 Cor. xi. 13.
12.] It is against this iniquity especially
that James, in his Epistle, and Jude, in
more than the outward sense the brother
of James, were called on to protest, — the
mixture of heathen licentiousness with the
profession of Christianity. But perhaps
we ought to have regard to the past tense
of the verb in the original, and interpret,
' because the iniquity is filled up/ on ac-
count of the horrible state of morality
(parallel to that described by Thucydides,
as prevailing in Greece, which had de-
stroyed all mutual confidence), the love
and mutual trust of the generality of
Christians shall grow cold. of

the many,— thus we have, ch. xxv. 6,
"they all slumbered and slept" Even
the Church itself is leavened by the dis-
trust of the evil days. See 2 These, ii. 3.
13.] The primary meaning of this
seems to be, that whosoever remained faith-
ful till the destruction of Jerusalem, should
be preserved from it. No Christian, that
we know of, perished in the siege or after
it : see below. But it has ulterior mean-
ings, according to which the end will sig-
nify, to an individual, the day of his death
(see Rev. ii. 10), — his martyrdom, as in the
case of some of those here addressed, — to
the Church, endurance in the faith to the
end of all things. See Luke xxi. 19, and
note. 14.] We here again have the

pregnant meaning of prophecy. The Gos-
pel had been preached through the whole
Roman world, and every nation had re-
ceived its testimony, before the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem : see Col. i. 6, 23: 2 Tim.
iv. 17. This was necessary not only as re-
garded the Gentiles, but to give to God's
people the Jews, who were scattered among
all these nations, the opportunity of re-
ceiving or refecting the preaching of
Christ. But in the wider sense, the words
imply that the Gospel shall be preached in
all the world, literally taken, before the
great and final end come. The apostasy of
the latter days, and the universal disper-
sion of missions, are the two great signs of
the end drawing near. 15. the abomi-
nation of desolation] The Greek words are
the LXX rendering of the Hebrew of Dan.
xii. 11. The similar expression in ch. xi.
31, is rendered in the same manner by the
LXX. To what exactly the words in
Daniel apply, is not clear. Like other pro-
phecies, it is probable that they are preg-
nant with several interpretations, and are
not yet entirely fulfilled. They were in-
terpreted of Antiochus Epiphanes by the
Alexandrine Jews; thus 1 Mace. i. 64 we
read " they set up the abomination of de-
eolation upon the altar" Josephus refers
the prophecy to the desolation by the Bo-
mans. The principal Commentators have
supposed, that the eagles of the Soman
legions are meant, which were an abomina-
tion, inasmuch as they were idols wor-
shipped by the soldiers. These, they say,
stood in the holy place, or a holy place,
when the Roman armies encamped round
Jerusalem under Cestius Gallus first, a.d.
66, then under Vespasian, a.d. 68, then
lastly under Titus, a.d. 70. Of these the
first is generally taken as the sign meant.
Josephus relates, B. J. ii. 20. 1, that after
Cestius was defeated, " many of the prin-
cipal Jews removed from the city, as from
a sinking ship." Bat, without denying
that this time was that of the sign being
given, I believe that all such interpreta-
tions of its meaning are wholly inapplica-

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12 — 20.

ST. MATTHEW.

165

holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16then

let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains : 17 let

him which is on the housetop not come down to take *■ any

thing out of his house : 18 neither let him which is in the

field return back to take his clothes. 19 a And ° woe unto oLukexxiii.

sa.

them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days I 2° But pray ye that your flight be not in the

1 read, the things.

ble. The error has mainly arisen from
supposing that the parallel warning of St.
Luke (ver. 20), " When ye tee Jerusalem
encompassed with armies, then her desola-
tion draweth nigh," is identical in meaning
with our text and that of St. Mark. The
two first evangelist*, writing for Jews, or
as Jews, give the inner or domestic sign of
the approaching calamity: which was to
be seen in the temple, and was to be the
abomination (always used of something
caused by the Jews themselves, see 2 Kings
xxi. 2—16: Ezek. v. 11; vii. 8, 9; viii.
6—16) which should cause the desolation,
— the last drop in the cup of iniquity.
Luke, writing for Gentiles, gives the out-
ward state of things corresponding to this
inward sign. That the Soman eagles can-
not be meant, is apparent: for the sign
would thus be no sign, the Roman eagles
having been seen on holy ground/or many
years past, and at the very moment when
these words were uttered. Also holy place
must mean the temple: see reff.
Now in searching for some event which
may have given such alarm to the Chris- .
tians, Josephus's unconscious admission is
important. The party of the Zelots, as we
learn, had taken possession of the temple.
In the next section he tells us that they
chose one Phannius as their high priest,
an ignorant and profane fellow, brought
out of the field. I own that the above-
cited passages strongly incline me to think
that if not this very impiety, some similar
one, about or a little before this time, was
the sign spoken of by the Lord. In its
place in Josephus, this very event seems to
stand a little too late for our purpose (a.d.
67, a year after the investment by Ces-
tius): but the narrative occurs in a de-
scription of the atrocities of the Zelots,
and without any fixed date, and they had
been in possession of the temple from the
very first. So that this or some similar
abomination may have about this time
filled up the cup of iniquity and given the
sign to the Christians to depart. What-
ever it was, it was a definite, well-marked
event, for the flight was to be immediate,

* render, But.

on one day (see ver. 20), and universal
from all parts of Juctaa. Putting then St.
Luke's expression and the text together, I
think that some internal desecration of
the holy place by the Zelots coincided with
the approach of Cestius, and thus, both
from without and within, the Christians
were warned to escape. See Luke zxi. 20.
whoso readeth, let him understand]
This I believe to have been an ecclesiastical
note, which, like the dozology in ch. vi. 18,
has found its way into the text. If the
two first Gospels were published before the
destruction of Jerusalem, such an admoni-
tion would be very intelligible. The words
may be part of our Lord's discourse direct-
ing attention to the prophecy of Daniel
(see 2 Tim. ii. 7 : Dan. xii. 10) ; but this
is not likely, especially as the reference to
Daniel does not occur in Mark, where
these words are also found. They cannot
well be the words of the Evangelist, in-
serted to bespeak attention, as this in the
three first Gospels is wholly without ex-
ample. 16—18.] The Christian Jews
are said to have fled to Pella, a town de-
scribed by Josephus as the northernmost
boundary of Peraea. Eusebius says they
were directed thither by a certain prophetic
intimation, which however cannot be this;
as Pella is not on the mountains, but be-
yond them (but in order to reach it would
not they have to fly exactly over [so literally
here] the mountains? See note on ch.
xviii. 12) : — Epiphanius, that they were
warned oy an angel. 17.] A person
might run on the flat-roofed houses in Je-
rusalem from one part of the city to an-
other, and to the city gates. Perhaps how-
ever this is not meant, but that he should
descend bv the outer stairs instead of the
inner, which would lose time. 19, 20.]
It will be most important that so sudden
a flight should not be encumbered, by per-
sonal hindrances, or by hindrances of ac-
companiment, see 1 Cor. vii. 26 ; and that
those things which are out of our power to
arrange, should be propitious, — weather,
and freedom from legal prohibition. The
words neither on the sabbath day, are

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166

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIV.

pSl!lt.lxjSi winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 for 'then shall be

"•'• great tribulation, such as b was not since the beginning of

the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And

except those days should be shortened, there should no

flesh be saved : q but for the elect's sake those days shall

be shortened. M Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,

here is ° Christ, or there ; believe it not. M For r there

shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew

signs and wonders; insomuch that, 'if it were

?xta!S?i?' possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 26 Behold, I

have told you before. 2fl Wherefore if they shall say unto

you, Behold, he is in the desert ; go not forth : behold, he

b render, hath not been. ° render, the Christ.

q I«l lxr. 8.
Z«ch. zIt. I.

r Dent. xili. 1.
ver.5,11.
I Th*M. 11.

0.10.U.

Ber. xtll. IS.

"£*££- great

peculiar to Matthew, and shew the strong
Jewish tint which caused him alone to
preserve such portions of our Lord's say-
ings. That they were not said as any
sanction of observance of the Jewish Sab-
bath, is most certain : but merely as re-
ferring to the positive impediment* which
might meet them on that day, the shut-
ting of the gates of cities, &c., and their
own scruples about travelling further than
the ordinary Sabbath-day's journey (about
a mile English) ; for the Jewish Christians
adhered to the law and customary observ-
ances till the destruction of Jerusalem.
21, 82.] In ver. 19 there is proba-
bly also an allusion to the horrors of the
siege, which is here taken up by the for.
See Deut. xxviii. 49 — 57, which was lite-
rally fulfilled in the case of Mary of Pe-
rsia, related by Josephus. Our Lord
still has in view the prophecy of Daniel
(ch. xii.-l), and this citation clearly shews
the intermediate fulfilment, by the de-
struction of Jerusalem, of that which is
yet future in its final fulfilment : for
Daniel is speaking or the end of all things.
Then only will these words be accomplished
in their full sense : although Josephus (but
' he only in a figure of rhetoric) has ex-
pressed himself in nearly the same lan-
guage : " All calamities from the beginning
of time seem to me to shrink to nothing
in comparison with those of the Jews."
22.] If God had not in his mercy
shortened (by His decree) those days ("the
dags of vengeance," Luke xxi. 22), the
whole nation (in the ultimate fulfilment,
all flesh) would have perished ; but for the
sake of the chosen ones, — the believing, —
or those who should believe,— or perhaps
the preservation of the chosen race whom
God hath not cast off, Bom. xi. 1, — they
shall be shortened. It appears that be-

sides the cutting short in the Divine coun~ .
sets, which must be hidden from us, vari-
ous causes combined to shorten the siege.
(1) Herod Agrippa had begun strengthen-
ing the walls of Jerusalem in a way which
if finished would have rendered them able
to resist all human violence, but was
stopped by orders from Claudius, a.d. 42
or 43, Jos. Antt. xix. 7. 2. (2) The Jews,
being divided into factions among them-
selves, had totally neglected any prepara-
tions to stand a siege. (3) The magazines
of corn and provision were burnt just be-
fore the arrival of Titus; the words of Jo-
sephus are remarkable on this : " Within
a little all the corn was burnt, which would
have lasted them many years of siege."
(4) Titus arrived suddenly, and the Jews
voluntarily abandoned parts of the fortifica-
' tion (Jewish Wars, vi. 8. 4). (5) Titus him-
self confessed, " God has fought for us, and
He it is who has deprived the Jews of these
their fortifications : for what could human
hands or engines do against these towers ? "
Some such providential shortening of the
great days of tribulation, and hastening
of God's glorious Kingdom, is here pro-
mised for the latter times. 23—26.]
These verses have but a faint reference
(though an unmistakeable one) to the time
of the siege : their principal reference is
to the latter dags. In their first mean-
ing, they would tend to correct the idea of
the Christians that the Lord's coming was
to be simultaneous with the destruction of
Jerusalem: and to guard them against
the impostors who led people out into the
wilderness (see Acts xxi. 38), or invited them
to consult them privately, with the promise
of deliverance. In their main view, they
will preserve the Church firm in her wait-
ing for Christ, through even the awful
troubles of the latter days, unmoved by

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21—29.

ST. MATTHEW.

167

is in the secret chambers ; believe it not. 27 For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto
the west ; so shall [d also] the coming of the Son of man
be. 28 * For wheresoever the carcase is, there will
eagles be gathered together,

the t Job xxrlx. 80.
ulwuxili.10.
Ezek. xxzit.
7. Joel 11. 10,

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days u shall a£*£ v!»:

the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her |g£5k».

d omit.

enthusiasm or superstition, bnt seeing and
looking for Him who is invisible. On the
signs and wonders, see 2 Thess. ii. 9—12 :
Deut. xiii. 1—3. 27, 28.] The coming

of the Lord in the end, even as that in the
type was, shall be a plain unmistakeable
fact, understood of all; — and like that
also, sudden and all-pervading. Bnt here
again the full meaning of the words is only
to be found in the final fulfilment of them.
The lightning, lighting both ends of hea-
ven at once, seen of all beneath it, can only
find its full similitude in His Personal
coming, Whom every eye shall see, Rev. i.
7. 28.] The stress is on wheresoever

and there, pointing out the universality.
In the similar discourse, Luke xvii. 37, be-
fore this saying, the disciples ask, * Where,
Lord?' The answer is, — first, at Jeru-
salem: where the corrupting body lies,
thither shall the vultures (see below) gather
themselves together, coming as they do
from far on the scent of prey. Secondly,
in its final fulfilment, — over the whole
world; — for that is the carcase now, and
the eagles the angels of vengeance. See
Deut. xxviii. 49, which is probably here
referred to; also Hosea viii. 1 : Heb. i. 8.
The interpretation which makes the car-
case our Lord, and the eagles the elect, is
quite beside the purpose. Neither is any
allusion to the Soman eagles to be for a
moment thought of. The birds meant by
the original word are the vultures (vultur
percnopterus, Linn.), usually reckoned by
the ancients as belonging to the eagle kind.
29. Immediately] All the difficulty
which this word has been supposed to in-
volve has arisen from confounding the
partial fulfilment of the prophecy with its
ultimate one. The important insertion in
Luke (xxL 23, 24) shews us that the tribu-
lation includes wrath upon this people,
which is yet being inflicted : and the tread-
ing down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles,
still going on (see note there) : and imme-
diately after that tribulation which shall
happen when the cup of Gentile iniquity is
full, and when the Gospel shall have been
preached in all the world for a witness,
and rejected by the Gentiles, (in Luke, "the

times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,9') shall the
coming of the Lord Himself happen. On
the indefiniteness of this assigned period
in the prophecy, see note on ver. 3. (The
expression in Mark is equally indicative of
a considerable interval : " In those days,
after that tribulation,") The fact of His
coming, and its attendant circumstances,
being known to Him, but the exact time
unknown, — He speaks without regardto the
interval, which would be employed in His
waiting till all things are put under His
feet: see Kev. i. 1; xxii. 6—20. In

what follows, from this verse, the Lord
speaks mainly and directly of His great
second coming. Traces there are (as e. g.
in the literal meaning of ver. 34) of slight
and indirect allusions to the destruction
of Jerusalem ;— as there were in the former
part to the great events of which that is a
foreshadowing :— but no direct mention.
The contents of the rest of the chapter
may be Set forth as follows: (ver. 29)
signs which shall immediately precede
(ver. 30) the coming of the Lord to judg-
ment, and (ver. 31) to bring salvation to
Sis elect. The certainty of the event,
and Us intimate connexion with its pre-
monitory signs (w. 32, 33); the endur-
ance (ver. 34) of the Jewish people till
the end — even till Heaven and Earth
(ver. 86) pass away. But (ver. 36) of
the day and hour none knoweth. Its
suddenness (vv. 37 — 39) and decisiveness
(w. 40, 41),— and exhortation (w. 42 —
44) to be ready for it. A parable setting
forth the blessedness of the watching, and
misery of the neglectful servant (vv. 45 —
end), and forming a point of transition to
the parables in the next chapter,
■hall the sun be darkened] The darkening
of the material lights of this world is used
in prophecy as a type of the occurrence
of trouble and danger in the fabric of
human societies, Isa. v. 30; xiii. 10;
xxxiv. 4 : Jer. iv. 28 : Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8 :
Amos viii. 9, 10: Micah iii. 6. But the
type is not only in the words of the pro-
phecy, but also in the events themselves.
Such prophecies are to be understood lite-
rally, and indeed without such understand'

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168

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIV-

light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
rDta.Tii.is. 0f the heavens shall be shaken: 30t and then shall appear
wfeeh.xu.ii. the sign of the Son of man in heaven : w and then shall all
the tribes of the earth mourn, x and they shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. 81 7 And he shall send his angels with a great
* sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other. 3aNow learn ' a parable of the fig tree; When his

x eh. xri. 17.
Eov.i.7.

jeh.xlll.41.

I Cor. xv. n.

II hew. It.
10.

6 render, voice.

f render, the parable from the fig-tree ;
becometh tender.

When now his branch

ing would lose their troth and significance.
The physical si^ps shall happen (see Joel
ii. 31: Hagg. li. 6, 21, compared with
Heb. zii. 26, 27) as accompaniments and
intensifications of the awful state of things
which the description typifies. The Sun
of this world and the church (Mai. iv. 2 :
Luke i. 78 : John i. 9 : Eph. v. 14 : 2 Pet.
i. 19) is the Lord Jesus— the Light, is the
Knowledge of Him. The moon — human
knowledge and science, of which it is said
(Ps. xxxvi. 9), ' In thy light shall we see
light:' reflected from, and drinking the
beams of, the Light of Christ. The stare
—see Dan. viii. 10 — are the leaders and
teachers of the Church. The Knowledge
of God shall be obscured— the Truth nigh
put out — worldly wisdom darkened — the
Church system demolished, andlier teachers
cast down. And all this in the midst of
the fearful signs here (and in Luke, w.
25, 26, more at large) recounted: not
setting aside, but accompanying, their
literal fulfilment. the powers of the

heavens] not the stars, just mentioned;
— nor the angels, spoken of by and by,
ver. 81: but most probably the greater
heavenly bodies, which rule the day and
night, Gen. i. 16, and are there also dis-
tinguished from the stars. See notes on
2 Pet. iii. 10—12, where the stars seem
to be included in the elements. Typically,
the influences which rule human society,
which make the political weather fair or
foul, bright or dark; and encourage the
fruits of peace, or inflict the blight and
desolation of war. 80.] This then, so

emphatically placed and repeated, is a
definite declaration of time, — not a mere
sign of sequence or coincidence, as e. g. in
ver. 23:— when these things shall have
been somewhile filling men's hearls with
fear,— thew shall Ac. It is quite

uncertain what the sign shall be :— plainly,

not the Son of Man Himself, as some
explain it (even Bengel, generally so valu-
able in his explanations, says, "He Himself
shall be the sign of Himself," and quotes
Luke ii. 12 as confirming this view ; but
there the swaddling clothes and the manger
were the 'sign/ not the Child), nor any
outward marks on His body, as His
wounds; for both these would confuse
what the prophecy keeps distinct — the
seeing of the sign of the Son of Man,
and all tribes of the earth mourning,
and afterwards seeing the Son of Man
Himself This is manifestly some sign in
the Heavens, by which all shall know that
the Son of Man is at hand. The Star of
the Wise Men naturally occurs to our
thoughts — but a star would not be a sign
which all might read. On the whole

I think no sign completely answers the
conditions, but that of the Cross:— and
accordingly we find the Fathers mostly
thus explaining the passage. But as our
Lord Himself does not answer the question,
" What is the sign of thine appearing ?"
we may safely leave the matter. all

the tribes of the earth] See Zech. xii. 10—
14, where the mourning is confined to the
families of Israel: — here, it is universal:
see Rev. i. 7 ; also vi. 15—17. This com-
ing of the Son of Man is not that spoken
of ch. xxv. 81, but that in 1 Thess. iv. 16,

17, and Rev. xix. 11 ff., — His coming at
the commencement of the millennial reign
to establish His Kingdom: see Dan. vii.

18, 14. The power is the power of
this Kingdom, not, the host of heaven.

81.] This is not the great Trumpet
of the general Resurrection (1 Cor. xv.
52), except in so far as that may be spoken
of as including also the first resurrection :
see on this verse the remarkable opening
of Ps. L, which is itself a prophecy of
these same times. 89, 88, 84.] The

Digitized by VjOOQIC

^v*r »-. * a « v

80—38.

ST. MATTHEW.

169

branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that
summer is nigh : M so likewise ye, when ye shall see all
these things, know that zit is near, even at the doors. ■'«"»■ «•
84 Verily I say unto you, "This generation shall not pass, "^iilm!8'
till all these things 9 be fulfilled. 85 b Heaven and earth b gy^f-
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. &b!'i!8ii.

86 c But of that day and hour knoweth ^no man, no, notcf$j££v.».
the angels of heaven, but * my Father only. 87 But as the ,Pet^ia*
days of Noe were, so shall [* also] the coming of the Son
of man be. M d For as in the days that were before the *<*»♦ ,▼*•?.«>

. . . 6: Til. 6.

flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving ipet •UL>0'
* render, shall happen. n render, none. * or, the. k <w»tf.

English version in ver. 82 is ambiguous,
besides being unfaithful. By " of " is evi-
dently meant from : but it seems as if it
were only concerning. " Learn," says our
Lord, ".from the fig-tree the parable :" the
natural phenomenon which may serve as
a key to the meaning. This coming

of the Lord shall be as sure a sign that
the Kingdom of Heaven is nigh, as the
putting forth of the tender leaves of the
fig-tree is a sign that summer is nigh.
Observe all these things, — every one of
these things, — this coming of the Son of
Man included, which will introduce the
millennial Kingdom. As regards

the parable,— there is a reference to the
withered Jiff-tree which the Lord cursed :
and as that, in its judicial unfruitfulness,
emblematized the Jewish people, so here
the putting forth of the fig-tree from its
state of winter dryness, symbolizes the
future reviviscence of that race, which the
Lord (ver. 34) declares shall not pass
away till all be fulfilled. That this is
the true meaning of that verse, must
appear, when we recollect that it forms
the conclusion of this parable, and is itself
joined, by this generation passing away,
to the verse following. We cannot, in
seeking for its ultimate fulfilment, go back
to the taking of Jerusalem and make the
words apply to it. As this is one of

the points on which the rationalizing in-
terpreters lay most stress to shew that the
prophecy has failed, I have taken pains
to shew, in my Or. Test., that the word
here rendered generation has the meaning
of a race or family of people. In all the
places there cited, the word necessarily
Dears that signification : having it is true
a more pregnant meaning, implying that
the character of one generation stamps
itself upon the race, as here in this verse
also. The continued use of pass away (the

word is the same in verses 34, 35) should
have saved the Commentators from the
blunder of imagining that the then living
generation was meant, seeing that the pro-
phecy is by the next verse carried on to
the end of 'all things: and that, as matter
of fact, the Apostles and ancient Christians
did continue to expect the Lord's coming,
after that generation had passed away.
But, as Stier well remarks, " there are men
foolish enough now to say, heaven and
earth will never pass away, but the words
of Christ pass away in course of time — ;
of this, however, we wait the proof." ii.
605. all these things— all the signs

hitherto recounted— so that both these
words, and ye (in ver. 88), have their

ftartial, and their full meanings,
t is near— viz. the end. On ver. 35 see
Ps. cxix. 89 : Isa. xl. 8; li. 6: Ps. cii. 26.
86.] that day, viz. of heaven and
earth passing away ; or, perhaps referring
to ver. 30 ff. day and hour — the exact

time — as we say, ' the hour and minute/
The very important addition to this verse
in Mark, and in some ancient MSS. here,
neither the Bon, is indeed included in
" but my Father only," but could hardly
have been inferred from it, had it not been
expressly stated : ch. xx. 23. All attempts
to soften or explain away this weighty
truth must be resisted : it will not do to
say with some Commentators, " He knows
it not as regards us," which, however well
meant, is a mere evasion : — m the course
of humiliation undertaken by the Son, in
which He increased in wisdom (Luke ii.
62), learned obedience (Heb. v. 8), uttered
desires in prayer (Luke vi. 12, &£.),— this
matter was hidden from Him : and as I
have already remarked, this is carefully to
be borne in mind, in explaining the pro-
phecy before us. 87—39.] This com-
parison also occurs in Luke xvii. 26, 27,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

170

ST. MATTHEW.

XXIV. 39—51.

in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 and knew not until the flood came, and took them all
away ; so shall [} also] the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one m shall be taken,
and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at
the mill ; the one m shall be taken, and the other left.

• ch.xxT.ii. 42 « Watch therefore : for ye know not what n hour your

ni "SSiLit Lord doth come. tt f But know this, that if the goodman

xviT'iB." ! of the house had known in what watch the thief would

come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered

g?TiSi.1T,:«.ni8 nouse *° ** °&roien, up. ** g Therefore be ye also

ready : for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of

45 h Who then is a faithful and wise servant,

whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give

h Acts «. n. man cometh

1 Cor. It. 3.
H«b.lil.ft.

1 omit.

n read, day.

with the addition of ' the dags of Lot * to
it : see also 2 Pet. ii. 4—10; iii. 5, 6. It
is important to notice the confirmation,
by His mouth who is Truth itself, of the
historic reality of the flood of Noah.
The expression drinking may serve to
shew that it is a mistake to imagine that
we have in Gen. ix. 20 the account of the
first wine and its effects. The security
here spoken of is in no wise inconsistent
with the anguish and fear prophesied,
Luke xxi. 25, 26. They sag, there is
peace, and occupy themselves as if there
were : but fear is at their hearts. On the
addition in Luke xxi. 34—36, see notes
there. 40, 41.] From this point (or

perhaps even from ver. 37, as historic re-
semblance is itself parabolic) the discourse
begins to assume a parabolic form, and
gradually passes into a series of formal
parables in the next chapter. These

verses set forth that, as in the times of
Noah, men and women shall be employed
in their ordinary work : see Exod. xi. 5 :
Isa. xlvii. 2. They also shew us that the
elect of God will to the last be mingled in
companionship and partnership with the
children of this world (see Mark i. 19, 20).
We may notice, that these verses do not
refer to the same as vv. 16 — 18. Then
it is a question of voluntary flight ; now
of being taken (by the angels, ver. 31 : the
present tense graphically sets the incident
before us ; or perhaps describes the rule of
proceeding. It is interesting to know that
the word " taken " is the same verb in the
original as "receive" in John xi v. 3) or
left. Nor again do they refer to the great

m render, IS.

0 t. e. broken into,

judgment of ch. xxv. 31, for then (ver. 32)
all shall be summoned: but they refer
to the millennial dispensation, and the
gathering of the elect to the Lord then.
The "women grinding at the mill" has
been abundantly illustrated by travellers, as
even now seen in the East. See especially
The Land and the Book, pp. 626, 7.
42—44.] Our Lord here resumes the tone
of direct exhortation with which He com-
menced. To the secure and careless He
will come as a thief in the night : to His
own, as their Lord. See Obad. 5 : Rev. iii.
3 ; xvi. 15 : 1 These, v. 1—10, where the
idea is expanded at length. Compare ver.
7 there with our ver. 49, and on the dis-
tinction between those who are of the day,
and those who are of the night, see notes
there. 46 — 47.] Our Lord had given

this parabolic exhortation before, Luke xii.
42 — 46. Many of these His last sayings
in public are solemn repetitions of, and
references to, things already said by Him.
That this was the case in the present in-
stance, is almost demonstrable, from the
implicit allusion in Luke xii. 86, to the
return from the wedding, which is here
expanded into the parable of ch. xxv. 1 ff.
How much more natural that our Lord
should have preserved in his parabolic dis-
courses the same leading ideas, and again
and again gathered his precepts round
them,— than that the Evangelists should
have thrown into utter and inconsistent
confusion, words which would have been
treasured up so carefully by them that
heard them; --to say nothing of the pro-
mised help of the Spirit to bring to mind

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XXV. 1.

ST. MATTHEW.

171

them meat in due season? 461 Blessed is that servant, iBw.wLM.

whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

4? Verily I say unto you, That k he shall make him ruler k $£■ ^J*

over all his goods. tt But [P and] if that evil servant shall ""* "'

say in» his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; ^and

shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and 4 to eat and

drink with the drunken; 60the lord of that servant shall

come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an*

hour that he is not aware of, 51 and shall cut him asunder,

and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: l there 1<*iT^.Wl

shall be weeping and. gnashing of teeth.

XXV. * Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened
unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth

P not expressed in the original. 4 read, shall.

all that He had said to them. Who

then ii] A question asked that each one
may put it to himself, — and to signify the
high honour of such an one. faithful

and wise] Prudence in a servant can be
only the consequence of faithfulness to his
master. This verse is especially ad-

dressed to the Apostles and Ministers of
Christ. The give them (their) meat
(= portion of meat, Luke xii. 42) answers
to the description of the workman that
need not be ashamed in 2 Tim. ii. 15. On
ver. 47, compare ch. xzv. 21 : 1 Tim. iii.
13 : Rev. ii. 26 ; iii. 21, which last two
passages answer to the promise here, that
each faithful servant shall be over all his
master's goods. That promotion shall not
be like earthly promotion, wherein the
eminence of one excludes that of another,
— but rather like the diffusion of love, in
which, the more each has, the more there
is for all. 48 — 61.1 The question is

not here asked again, who is Ac., but the
transition made from the good to the bad
servant, or even the good to the bad mind
of the same servant, by the epithet evil,
delayeth] then manifestly, a long
delay is in the mind of the Lord: see
above on ver. 29. Notice that this servant
also is one set over the household—one
who sags my lord— wad began well — but
now begins to, <fcc.— falls away from his
truth and faithfulness ; — the sign of which
is that he begins (lit. shall have begun) to
lord it over the elect (1 Pet. v. 3), and to
revel with the children of the world. In
consequence, though he have not lost his
belief ("my lord"), he shall be placed
with those who believed not, the hypo-
crites. 01.] The reference is to the
punishment of cutting, or sawing asunder :

see Dan. ii 5 ; iii. 29 : Sua. ver. 59 : see
also Heb. iv. 12 ; xi. 37. The expression
hero is perhaps not without a symbolical
reference also to that dreadful sundering
of the conscience and practice which shall
be the reflective torment of the con-
demned :— and by the mingling and con-
founding of which only is the anomalous
life of the wilful sinner made in this world
tolerable.

Chap. XXV. 1 — 18.] Papjlblb op the
tiboins. Peculiar to Matthew.
1.] Then— at the period spoken qf at the
end qf the last chapter, viz. the coming
of the Lord to His personal rejgn— not
His final coming to judgment. ten

virgins] The subject of this parable is not,
as of the last, the distinction between the
faithful and unfaithful servants; no out-
ward distinction here exists— all are vir-
gins— all companions of the bride — all fur-
nished with brightly-burning lamps — all,
up to a certain time, fully ready to meet
the Bridegroom — the difference consists in
some having made a provision for feeding
the lamps in case of delay, and the others
none — and the moral of the parable is the
blessedness of endurance unto the end.
"The point of the parable consists," as
Calvin remarks, in this, "that it is not
enough to have been once girt and prepared
for duty, unless we endure even to the end."
There is no question here of apostasy, or
unfaithfulness— but of the want of provi-
sion to keep the light bright against the
coming of the bridegroom, however delayed.
Ten was a favourite number with
the Jews— ten men formed a congregation
in a synagogue. In a passage from Rabbi
Salomo, cited by Wetstein, he mentions
ten lamps or torches as the usual number

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172

ST. MATTHEW.

XXV.

^Sftjy^h. *° mee^ * the bridegroom,

7 1 xxl.J.9.
beh.zlil.47i
xxli. 10.

o 1 Th«M. t. 6.

2 b And five of them were p wise ,
and five were r foolish. 8 %They that were foolish took their
lamps, and took no oil with them : * but the wise took oil
in their vessels with their lamps. B While the bridegroom
* tarried, c they all slumbered and slept. fl And at midnight
there u was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom [T cometK\ ;
go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose,

r in the ancient authorities these words are transposed.

■ read, For the foolish, when they took their lamps.
* render, delayed. u see note.

T omit

in marriage processions : see also Luke xiz.
13. to meat the bridegroom] It

would appear that these virgins had left
their own homes, and were waiting some-
where for the bridegroom to come, — pro-
bably at the house of the bride; for the
object of the marriage procession was to
fetch the bride to the bridegroom's house.
Meyer however supposes that in this case
the wedding was to be held in the bride's
house, on account of the thing signified —
the coming of the Lord to His Church; —
but it is better to take the ordinary cus-
tom, and interpret accordingly, where we
can. In both the wedding parables (see
ch. xzii.) the bride does not appear — for
she, being the Church, is in fact the aggre-
gate of the guest* in the one case, and of
the companions in the other. We may
perhaps say that she is here, in the strict
interpretation, the Jewish Church, and
these ten«virgins Gentile congregations ac-
companying her. This went forth is not
their final going out in ver. 6, for only half
of them did so, — but their leaving their
own homes : compare took, in w. 8, 4.
The interpretation is— these are souls come
out from the world into the Church, and
there waiting for the coming of the Lord —
not hypocrites, but faithful souls, bearing
their lamps (their own lamps; so, lite-
rally : compare 1 Thess. iv. 4) — the inner
spiritual life fed with the oil of God's Spirit
(see Zech. iv. 2—12 : Acts x. 38 : Heb. i.
9). All views of this parable which repre-
sent the foolish virgins as having only a
dead faith, only the lamp without the
light, the body without the spirit, Ac., are
quite beside the purpose ; — the lamps (see
ver. 8) were all burning at first, and for a
certain time. Whether the equal par-

tition of wise and foolish have any deep
meaning we cannot say; it may be so.
8, 4.] These were not torches, nor
wicks fastened on staves, as some have
supposed, but properly lamps : and the oil
vessels (which is most important to the
parable) were separate from the lamps.

The lamps being the hearts lit with the
flame of heavenly love and patience, sup-
plied with the oil of the Spirit,— now comes
in the difference between the wise and fool-
ish:— the one made no provision for the
supply of this — the others did. How so ?
The wise ones gave all diligence to make
their calling and election sure (2 Pet. i. 10
and 5— 8), making their bodies, souls, and
spirits (their vessels, 2 Cor. iv. 7) a means
of supplying spiritual food for the light
within, by seeking, in the appointed means
of grace, more and more of God's Holy
Spirit. The others did not this— but trust-
ing that the light, once burning, would
ever burn, made no provision for the
strengthening of the inner man by watch,
fulness and prayer. 6—7] delayed :

compare ch. zziv. 48/ where the- Greek
verb rendered delayeth is the same. The
same English rendering ought to have
been kept here. But the thought of the
foolish virgins is very different from that
of the wicked servant : his — ' there will be
plenty of time, my Lord tarrieth ;' — theirs,
' surely He will soon be here, there is no
need of a store of oil.' This may serve to
shew how altogether diverse is the ground
of the two parables. they all slum-

bered and slept] I believe no more is meant
here than that all, being weak by nature,
gave way to drowsiness : as indeed the wake-
fulness of the holiest Christian, compared
with what it should be, is a sort of slum-
ber : — but, the while, how much difference
was there between them ! Some understand
this verse of sleep in death. But, not to
mention that this will not fit the machinery
of the parable (see below on ver. 8), it would
assume (they all) that none of the faithful
would be living on earth when the Lord
comes. a cry made] See Isa. lxii.

6—7: and the porter's duty, Mark xiii.
84. This warning cry is before the coming :
see ver. 10. The exact rendering is pre-
sent, graphically setting the reality before
us : there ariseth a cry. all] Ml

now seem alike— all wanted their lamps

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2—14.

ST. MATTHEW.

173

Luk«xii.a

and d trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto*
the wise, Give us of your oil ; for our lamps are w gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, [x Not so ;] lest there be
not enough for us and you : but go ye rather to them that
sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to
buy, the bridegroom came ; and 7 they that were ready
went in with him to a the marriage : and • the door was •
shut. n Afterward came also the other virgins, saying,
fLord, Lord, open to us. laBut he answered and said, f
Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 1S * Watch there- *
fore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour [a wherein
the Son of man cometh].

14 h jior p> jfo kingdom of heaven is] l as a man ° travelling J,
into a far country, [who] called his own servants, and

w render, going out. x not expressed in the original,

7 render for perspicuity {the pronoun is feminine), the virgin8. ■ render,

the marriage feast. a omit, D not expressed in the original.

0 the original has only, leaving his Country, or, his home : see ch. zzi. 83.

Luke xliL 10.

eh.rlLJl.M,
St.

ch.xxlT.4S,
44. ICor.

XTi.lt.

1 TImu. ▼. A.

lPlt.T.8.

Bev.XYi.lt.

Lnkazix.lt
oh.xxi.SS.

trimmed — but for the neglectful, there
is not wherewith. It is not enough to
have burnt, but to be burning, when He
comes. Raise the wick as they will, what
avails it if the oil is spent ? trimmed]

"by pouring on fresh oil, and removing
the fungi about the wick : for the latter
purpose a sharp-pointed wire was attached
to the lamp, which is still seen in the
bronze .lamps found in sepulchres." Webst.
and Wilk. 8, 9.] are going out;—

not as A. VM — * are gone out .*' and there
is deep truth in this : the lamps of the
foolish virgins are not extinguished alto-
gether, lest there be not enough]
See Ps. xlix. 7 : Bom. ziv. 12. No man
can have more of this provision than will
supply his own wants. go ye rather]
This is not said in mockery, as some sup-
pose : but in earnest. them that eeU]
These are the ordinary dispensers of the
means of grace — ultimately of course God
Himself, who alone can give his Spirit.
The counsel was good, and well followed —
but the time was past. Observe that those
who sell are a particular class of persons —
no mean argument for a set and appointed
ministry; and moreover for a. paid minis-
try. If they sell, they receive for the thing
sold : compare our Lord's saying, Luke z.
7. This selling bears no analogy with the
crime of Simon Magus in Acts viii. : com-
pare our Lord's other saying, Matt. z. 8.
10-13.] We are not told that they
could not buy — that the shops were shut-

but simply that it was too late—for that
time. For it is not the final coming of the
Lord to judgment, when the day of grace
will be past, that is spoken of,— except in
so far as it is hinted at in the background,
and in the individual application of the
parable (virtually, not actually) coincides,
to each man, with the day of his death.
This feast is the marriage supper of Rev.
ziz. 7—9 (see also ib. zxi. 2); after which
these improvident ones gone to buy their oil
shall be judged in common with the rest of
the dead, ibid. zz. 12, 13. Observe

here, I know you not is very different, as
the whole circumstances are different, from
" I never knew you," in ch. vii. 28, where
the "Depart from me" binds it to our
ver. 41, and to the time of the final judg-
ment, spoken of in that parable. [See
the note at the end of the chapter.]

14—80.] Paeablb op thb taxbktb.
Peculiar to Matthew. The similar parable
contained in Luke ziz. 11 — 27 is altogether
distinct, and uttered on a different occa-
sion: see notes there. 14.] The
ellipsis is rightly supplied in the A. V.,
For [the kingdom of heaven is] as a
man, Ac. We have this parable and the
preceding one alluded to in very few words
by Mark ziii. 34 — 36. In it we have the
active side of the Christian life, and its
danger, set before us, as in the last the
contemplative side. There, the foolish vir-
gins failed, from thinking their part too
easy— here the wicked servant tula, from

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174

ST. MATTHEW.

XXV.

kttom.iH.8.
1 Cor. xil. 7,
U, SO. Epb
It. 11.

delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave
five talents, to another two, and to another one ; k to every
man according to his several ability; and straightway
took his journey. lflThen he that had received the five
talents went and traded with the same, and made them
other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received
two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received
one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's
money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants
cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had
received five talents came and brought other five talents,
saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: be-
hold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His
lord said unto him; Well done, thou good and faithful
servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, 1 1 will
"i^^ft.11" make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into m the
joy of thy lord. 2% He also that had received two talente
came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents :
behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
28 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful
servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will

loh.zziv.47.
ver. 84, 4ft.

thinking his too hard. The parable is still
concerned with Christians (his own ser-
vants), and not the world at large.
We most remember the relation of master
and slave, in order to understand bis de-
livering to them his property, and punish-
ing them for not fructifying with it.
15.] In Luke each receives the tame, but
the profit made by each is different : see
notes there. Here, in fact, they did each
receive the same, for they received accord-
ing to their ability — their character and
powers. There is no Pelagianism in this,
for each man's powers are themselves the
gift of Ood. 16—18.1 The increase

gained by each of the two faithful servants
was the full amount of their talents: — of
each will be required as much as has been
given. The third servant here is not to
be confounded with the wicked servant
in ch. xxiv. 48. This one is not actively
an ill-doer, but a hider of the money en-
trusted to him — one who brings no profit-:
see on ver. 24. 19 — 23. After a long

time] Here again, as well as in the delay
of ver. 5 and ch. xxiv. 48, we have an in-
timation that the interval would be no
short one. This proceeding is not, strictly
speaking, the last judgment, but still the
same as that in the former parable ; the
beginning of judgment at the house of God

— the judgment of the millennial advent.
This to the servants of Christ (his own ser-
vants, ver. 14), is their final judgment —
but not that of the rest of the world. We
may observe that this great account differs
from the coming of the bridegroom, inas-
much as this is altogether concerned with
a course of action past — that with a pre-
sent state of preparation. This holds, in
the individual application, of the account
after the resurrection ; that, at the utmost
{and not in the direct sense of the parable
even so much), of being ready for his sum-
mons at death. 20.] The faithful ser-
vant does not take the praise to himself
—thou deliveredst onto me is his confes-
sion — and beside them the enabling cause
of his gain ; — ' without Me, ve can do no-
thing/ John xv. 5. This is plainer in Luke
(xix. 16), " Thy pound hath gained ten
pounds." See 1 Cor. xv. 10 : — and on the
joy and alacrity of these faithful servants
in the day of reckoning, 1 Thess. ii. 19 :
2 Cor. i. 14 : Phil. iv. 1. 21.] See the
corresponding sentence in Luke xix. 17, and
note. The joy here is not & feast, as some-
times interpreted, but that joy spoken of
Heb. xii. 2, and Isa. liii. 11 — that joy of the
Lord arising from the completion of His
work and labour of love, of which the first
Sabbatical rest of the Creator was typical —

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15—28.

ST. MATTHEW.

175

make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the
joy of thy lord. ** Then he which had received the one
talent came and said, Lord, I knfcw thee that thou art an
hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering
where thou hast not strawed : ** and I was afraid, and
went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, [d there] thou
hast that is thine. ** His lord answered and said unto
him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that
I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not
strawed : W thou oughtest therefore to have put my money
to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have
received mine own with usury. ^Take therefore the

* not expressed in the original.

Gen. L 31 ; ii. 2,— and of which His faith-
ful ones shall in the end partake: see
Heh. iv. 3—11 : Rev. iii. 21. Notice

the identity of the praise and portion of
him who had been faithful in less, with
those of the first. The words are, as
has been well observed, "not, 'good and
successful servant,' but 'good and faith-
ful servant:"' and faithfulness does not
depend on amount. 24, 25.] This

sets forth the excuse which men are per*
petually making of human infirmity and
inability to keep God's commands, when
they never apply to that grace which might
enable them to do so— an excuse, as here,
self-convicting, and false at heart.
reaping where thou hast not sown] The
connexion of thought in this our Lord's
last parable, with His first (ch. xiii. 3—9),
is remarkable. He looks for fruit where
He has sown — this is truth : but not beyond
the power of the soil by Him enabled— this
is man's lie, to encourage himself in idle-
ness. I was afraid] See Gen. iii. 10.
But that pretended fear, and this insolent
speech, are inconsistent, and betray the
falsehood of his answer. then hast
that U thine] This is also false— it was
not so — for there was his lorcFs time, — and
his own labour, which was his lord's — to be
accounted for. 26, 27.] St. Luke pre-
fixes "out of thine own mouth will I judge
thee," — viz. ' because, knowing the relation
between us, that of absolute power on my
part over thee, — if thou hadst really
thought me such an hard master, thou
oughtest Ac., in order to avoid utter ruin.
But this was not thy real thought — thou
wert wished and slothful.' thou
knewest, Ac. is not concessive, but hy-
pothetical;— God is not really such a
Master. the exchangers, in Luke

(xix. 23) "the bank" (exchange).
There was a saying very current among
the early Fathers, u Be ye worthy ex-
changers," which some of them seem
to attribute to the Lord, some to one
of the Apostles. It is supposed by some
to be taken from this place, and it is
just possible it may have been: but it
more likely was traditional, or from some
apocryphal gospel. Suicer discusses the
question, and inclines to think that it
was a way of expressing the general moral
of the two parables in Matt, and Luke.
But, in the interpretation, who are
these exchangers ? Tbe explanation (Olsh.,
and adopted by Trench, Parables, p. 247)
of their being those stronger characters
who may lead the more timid to the useful
employments of gifts which they have not
energy to use, is oMectionable (1) as not
answering to the character addressed—
he was not timid, but false and slothful :
— and (2) nor to the facts of the case :
for it is impossible to employ the grace
given to one through another's means,
without working one's self. I rather

take it to mean, ' If thou hadst really been
afraid, Ac., slothful as thou art, thou
mightest at least, without trouble to thy-
self, have provided that I should have
not been defrauded of the interest of my
money— but now thou art both slothful
and wicked, in having done me this in-
justice/ Observe there would have been
no praise due to the servant— but "that
which is mine" would not have lost its
increase. The machinery of religious and
charitable societies in our day is very
much in the place of the exchangers. Let
the subscribers to them take heed that
they be not in the degraded case of this
servant, even if his excuse had been genu-

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176

ST. MATTHEW.

XXV.

talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten
talents. 29 n For unto every one that hath shall be given,
and he shall have abundance : but from him that hath not
shall be taken away even that which he hath. *° And
cast ye the unprofitable servant ° into outer darkness :
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

81 p • When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and
all the [f holy] angels with him, then shall he sit upon
the throne of his glory : s* and « before him shall be ga-
aL^S;.1!*: thered G all nations : and r he shall separate them one from
iht'k.ij. another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
17.ch.xiii.* ssand he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the

0 render, But when : literally, "Whenever. f omitted in many of

the oldest authorities. ff render, all the nations.

nch.xtti.ll.

o ob. rill. Hi
xxir. 61.

p Zeoh. xIt. 5.
eh. xtI. 17 1
xlx.M.
Acta i. 11.
1 Thew. It.
10. SThaw.
1.7. Jade

ine. 28 — 81.] This command is an-

swered in Luke xix. 25, by a remonstrance
from those addressed, which the Master
overrules by stating the great law of His
kingdom. On ch. xiii. 12, we have ex-
plained this as applied to the system of
teaching by parable*. Here it is pre-
dicated of the whole Christian life. It is
the case even, in nature : a limb used is
strengthened ; disused, becomes weak. The
transference of the talent is not a matter
of justice between man and man, but is
done in illustration of this law, and in
virtue of that sovereign power by which
God does what He will with his own : see
Bom. xi. 29, and note there. In the outer
darkness there is again an allusion to the
marriage supper of the Lamb, from which
the useless servant being excluded, gnashes
his teeth with remorse without : see ch.
xxii. 13.

31—46.] The final judgment of
▲el the nations. Peculiar to Matthew.
In the two former parables we have seen
the difference between, and judgment of,
Christian* — in their inward readiness for
their Lord, and their outward diligence
in profiting by his gifts. And both these
had reference to that first resurrection
and millennial Kingdom, the reality of
which is proved by the passages of Scrip-
ture cited in the notes above, and during
which all Christians shall be judged. We
now come to the great and universal
judgment at the end of this period, also
prophesied of distinctly in order in Rev.
xx. 11 — 15 — in which all the dead, small
and great, shall stand before Qod. This
last great judgment answers to the judg-
ment on Jerusalem, after the Christians
had escaped from it : to the gathering of

the eagles (ministers of vengeance) to the
carcase. Notice the precision of the words
in ver. 31, when(ever) — this setting forth
the indeflniteness of the time— the but
the distinction from the two parables fore-
going ; and then, to mark a precise time
when all this shall take place— a day of
judgment. Compare, for the better

understanding of the distinction and con-
nexion of these * two comings ' of the Lord,
1 Thess. iv. 16, 17, and 2 Thess. i. 7—10.

This description is not a parable,
though there are in it parabolic passages,
e. g. as a shepherd, Ac. : and for that very
reason, that which is illustrated by those
likenesses is not itself parabolic. It will
heighten our estimation of the wonderful
sublimity of this description, when we
recollect that it was spoken by the Lord
only three days before his sufferings.

81. in his glory] This expression,
repeated again at the end of the verse, is
quite distinct from with power and great
glory ch. xxiv. 30 : see Rev. xx. 11. This
His glory is that also of all his saints,
with whom He shall be accompanied : see
Jude ver. 14. In this his coming they
are with the angels, and as the angels :
see Rev. xix. 14 (compare ver. 8) : Zech.
xiv. 5. 82.] The expression ail the

nations implies all the nations of the
world, as distinguished from the elect
already gathered to Him, just as the Gen-
tiles were by that name distinguished from
his chosen people the Jews. Among these
are "the other sheep which He has, not
of this fold," John x. 16. he shall

separate] See Ezek. xxxiv. 17. The sheep
are those referred to in Rom. ii. 7, 10 ; the
goats in ib. w. 8, 9, where this eame judg-
ment according to works is spoken of.

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29—40.

ST. MATTHEW.

177

goats on the left. 8* Then shall the King say unto them
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, ■ inherit B
the kingdom * prepared for you from the foundation of the
world : 35 u for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink : v I was a stranger, n
and ye took me in : M w naked, and ye clothed me : I was T
sick, and ye visited me : x I was in prison, and ye came
unto me. 8? Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, z
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or
thirsty, and gave thee drink ? S8 when saw we thee a
stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ?
89 or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto
thee ? 4° And the King shall answer and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you, y Inasmuch as ye n have done it unto y
one of the least of these my brethren, ye n have done it

Rom. rill. 17.
1 Pet. i. i, 0:
Hi. 0. Ber.
xzi. 7.
ob. xx. IS.
1 Cor. li. 0.
Heb. xi. 10.
Iu.lrlii.7.
Ezek.xviil.7.
Junes i. 27.
Heb. xiil. 8.
S Jobn 0.
Jtmwli.15.
lft.
1 Tim. Lift.

ProT. xIt. 81 :
xU. 17- eh.
x.43. Heb.

Yi.10.

n render, did it.

34.J The Kixq — here for the first
and only time does the Lord give Himself
this name : see Rev. xix. 16 : Bom. xiv. 9.
Come] Whatever of good these per-
sons had done, was all from Him from
whom cometh every good gift— and the
fruit of hie Spirit. And this Spirit is
only purchased for man by the work of
the Son, in whom the Father is well
pleased: and to whom all judgment is
committed. And thus they are the blessed
of the Father, and those for whom this
kingdom is prepared. It is not to the
purpose to say that those blessed of ... .
must be the elect of God in the stricter
sense (the Father)— and that, because the
Kingdom has been prepared for them
from the foundation of the world. For
evidently this would, in the divine omni-
science, be true of every single man
who shall come to salvation, whether be-
longing to those who shall be found worthy
to share the first resurrection or not. The
Scripture assures us of two resurrections :
the first, of the dead in Christ, to meet
Him and reign with Him, and hold (1 Cor.
vi. 2) judgment over the world: the second,
of all the dead, to be judged according to
their works. And to what purpose would
be a judgment, if all were to he con-
demned? And if any escape condemna-
tion, to them might the words of this
verse be used : so that this objection to
the interpretation does not apply.
JElection to l\fe is the universal doctrine
of Scripture; but not the reprobation of
the wicked: see below, on ver. 41. On
from the foundation of the world, see
Vol. I.

John xvii. 24 : 1 Pet. i. 20. 85. took

me in] the idea of the word is, ' numbered
me among your own circle.' 87—40.]

The answer of these righteous appears to
me to shew plainly that they are not to be
understood as being the covenanted ser-
vants of Christ. Such an answer it would
be impossible for them to make, who had
done all distinctly with reference to Christ,
and for his sake, and with his declaration
of ch. x. 40—42 before them. Such a sup-
position would remove all reality, as indeed
it has generally done, from our Lord's
description. See the remarkable difference
in the answer of the faithful servants, w.
20, 22. The saints are already in Sis
glory— judging the world with Him (1
Cor. vi. 2) -accounted as parts of, repre-
sentatives of, Himself (ver. 40)— in this
judgment they are not the judged (John
v. 24: 1 Cor. xi. 81). But these who are
the judged, know not that all their deeds
of love have been done to and for Christ —
they are overwhelmed with the sight of
the grace which has been working in and
for them, and the glory which is now their
blessed portion. And notice, that it is not
the works, as such, but the love which
prompted them— that love which was their
faith,— which felt its way, though in dark-
ness, to Him who is Love— which is com-
mended. 40. my brethren] Not neces-
sarily the saints with Him in glory—
though primarily those -but also any of
the great family of man. Many of those
here judged may never have had an oppor-
tunity of doing these things to the saints
of Christ properly so called. In this

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178

ST. MATTHEW.

XXV. 41-46.

z p«. ti. s.

ch. Yii. SS.
ach.xiil.40,

42.
b S Pet. 11. 4.

JudeO.

unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left
hand, * Depart from me, ye cursed, a into * everlasting fire,
prepared for b the devil and his angels : *2 for I was an
hungred, and ye gave me no meat : I waa thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink : *& I was a stranger, and ye took me
not in : naked, and ye clothed me not : sick, and in prison,
and ye visited me not. ** Then shall they also answer
[fchim], saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
did not minister unto thee? ** Then shall he answer

cPnw.riT n. them, saying, Verily I say unto you, c Inasmuch as ye did
& s. Aot* ft no^ t° one °f the least of these, ye did it not to me.

d j?hi?.»: ** And d these shall go away into l everlasting punishment :
nam. a. 7 ir. ^u^. ^ righte0US ^f^, life eternal.

XXVI. l And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished

* render, the eternal fire which hath been prepared.

fc omit. 1 render, eternal (the word it ike same in both places) .

is fulfilled the covenant of God to Abra-
ham, "in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth (so in LXX) be blessed."
Gen. xxii. 18. 41—43.] It is very

important to observe the distinction be-
tween the blessing, ver. 34, and the curse
here. ' Blessed — of my Father ;'— but not
' cursed of my Father/ because all man's
salvation is of God— all his condemnation
from himself. 'The Kingdom, prepared
for you :' but ' the fire, which has been
prepared for the devil and his angels'
[greater definiteness could not be given
than by the words in the original: that
particular fire, that eternal fire, created
for a special purpose] — not, for you: be-
cause there is election to life — but there is
no reprobation to death : a book of Life
—but no book of Death ; no hell for man
— because the blood of Jesus hath pur-
chased life for all : but they who will
serve the devil, must share with him in the
end. The repetition of all these par-

ticulars shews how exact even for every
individual the judgment will be. Stier
excellently remarks, that the curse shews
the termination of the High Priesthood of
Christ, in which office He only intercedes
and blesses. Henceforth He is King and
Lord — his enemies being now for ever put
under his feet. 44, 45.] See note

on ver. 37. The sublimity of this

description surpasses all imagination —
Christ, as the Son of Man, the Shepherd,
the King, the Judge — as the centre and
end of all human love, bringing out and
rewarding his latent grace in those who

have lived in love — everlastingly punishing
those who have quenched it in an un-
loving and selfish life— and in the accom-
plishment of his mediatorial office, causing,
even from out of the iniquities of a rebel-
lious world, his sovereign mercy to re-
joice against judgment. 46.] See
John v. 28, 29 ; and as taking up the pro-
phetic history at this point, Rev. xxi.
1 — 8. Observe, the same epithet is used
in the original for punishment and life —
which are here contraries — for the life
here spoken of is not bare existence, which
would have annihilation for its opposite ;
but blessedness and reward, to which
punishment and misery are antagonist
terms. As regards the interpretation of
this chapter, the coincidence of these por-
tions of Scripture prophecy with the pro-
cess of the great last things in Rev. xx.
and xxi. is never to be overlooked, and
should be our guide to their explanation,
however distrustful we may be of its cer-
tainty. Those who set this coincidence
aside, and interpret each portion by itself,
without connexion with the rest, are clearly
wrong. The only alternative view seems
to be that which regards this as the judg-
ment at the time of Israel's deliverance,
previous to the Millennium. This has been
urged on me lately by a very able cor-
respondent : but I cannot see how it
agrees with the great features of the
description as pointed out above.

Chap. XXVI. 1, 2.] Final announce-
ment OP HIS SUFFERINGS, NOW CLOSE AT

hand. Mark xiv. 1. Luke xxii. 1. The

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XXVI. 1-6.

ST. MATTHEW.

179

all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that
after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of
man is m betrayed to be crucified. 3 *Then assembled * 5S,n 5. c.
together the chief priests, [n and the scribes^ and the elders *c T '**
of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was
called Caiaphas, * and consulted that they might take
Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not ° on
the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. ' bJotoxL1 1:
6 b Now when Jesus was in c Bethany, in the house of 03l!**d.17'

m or, delivered up : U is the same word as in ver. 15, 16, 21, fc.
n omit. ° render, during the feast.

public office of our Lord as a Teacher
having been now fulfilled, His priestly
office begins to be entered upon. He had
not completed all his discourses, for He
delivered, after this, those contained in
John xiv. — xvii. — but not in public ; only
to the inner circle of his disciples. From
this point commences the nabbatiyb of
hib passion. 2. after two days]

This gives no certainty as to the time
when the words were said: we do not
know whether the current day was in-
cluded or otherwise. But thus much of
importance we learn from them : that the
delivery of our Lord to be crucified, and
the taking place of the Passover, strictly
coincided. The solemn mention of them
in this connexion is equivalent to a decla-
ration from Himself, if it were needed, of
the identity, both of time and meaning,
of the two sacrifices; and serves as the
fixed point in the difficult chronological
arrangement of the history of the
Passion. The latter clause, and the
Son of man . . . ., depends on ye know
as well as the former. Our Lord had
doubtless before joined these two events
together in His announcements to his dis-
ciples. To separate this clause from the
former, seems to me to do violence to the
construction. It would require and then
the Son. . . .

3—5.] CONSPIBACY OP THE JEWISH

authorities. Mark xiv. 1. Luke xxii.
2. This assembling has no connexion
with what has just been related, but
follows rather on the end of ch. xxiii.
who was called Caiaphas is in
Josephus, "Joseph, who is also Caiaphas."
Valerius Gratus, Procurator of Judsea, had
appointed him instead of Simon ben
Kamith. He continued through the pro-
curatorship of Pontius Pilate, and was
displaced by the proconsul Vitellius, a.d.
87. See note on Luke iii. 2, and chrono-

logical table in introduction to Acts,
who was called does not mean who was
' snrnained,' but (see ver. 14) implies that
some name is to follow, which is more
than, or different from, the real one of the
person. Hot during the feast] This

expression must be taken as meaning the
whole period of the feast — the seven days.
On the feast-day (A. V.), i. e. the day on
which the passover was sacrificed, they
could not lay hold of and slay any one,
as it was a day of sabbatical obligation
(Exod. xii. 16). See note on ver. 17.

6 — 18.] The anointing at Bethany.
Mark xiv. 3—9. John xii. 1 — 8. On
Luke vii. 86 — 50, see note there. This
history of the anointing of our Lord is here
inserted out of its chronological place.
It occurred six days before the Passover,
John xii. 1. It perhaps can hardly be
said that in its position here, it accounts
in any degree for the subsequent ap-
plication of Judas to the Sanhedrim .
(w. 14 — 16), since his name is not even
mentioned in it : but I can hardly doubt
that it originally was placed where it
here stands by one who was aware of
its connexion with that application. The
paragraphs in the beginning of this
chapter come in regular sequence, thus:
Jesus announces his approaching Passion :
the chief priests, &c. meet and plot His
capture, but not during the feast: but
when Jesus was in Bethany, &c. occasion
was given for an offer to be made to
them, which led to its being effected, after
all, during the feast. On the rebuke given
to Judas at this time having led to his
putting into effect his intention of betray-
ing our Lord, see note on John xii. 4.
The trace of what 1 believe to have been
the original reason of the anointing being
inserted in this place, is still further lost
in St. Mark, who instead of when Jesus
was . . . has *' and being " .... just as
2

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180

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

Simon the leper, 7 there came unto him a woman having
an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it
on his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when his disciples
saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is
this waste ? 9 For this [P ointment] might have been sold
for much, and given to the poor. 10 When Jesus under-
stood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman ?
dD«it.xT.ii. for 8he hath wrought a good work upon me. n d For ye
• ■yciurriii. have the poor always with you; but eme ye have not
always. 12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on
my body, she did it for my burial. 18 Verily I say unto
you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the
whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath
done, be told for a memorial of her.

P omit.

SO. John
xiil.M. xlr.

101 XTi.fit

tS: xviLU.

if the narrative were continued; and at
the end, instead of our then . . . Judas
. . . went .... has "and Judas . . .
went" .... as if there were no con-
nexion between the two. It certainly
cannot be said of St. Matthew, that
he relates the anointing- as taking place
two day* before the Passover: of St.
Mark it might be said. It may be ob-

served that St. Luke relates nothing of
our Lord's visits to Bethany. 6. Si-

mon the leper] Not at this time a leper,
or he could not be at his house receiving
guests. It is at least possible, that he
may have been healed by our Lord. Who
he was, is wholly uncertain. From Martha
serving (John xii. 2), it would appear as
if she were at home in the house (Luke
x. 38 sqq.) ; and that Lazarus was one of
them that sat at meat need not necessarily
imply that he was a guest properly so
called. He had been probably (see John
xii. 9) absent with Jesus at fiphraim, and
on this account, and naturally for other
reasons, would be an object of interest, and
one of the sitters at table. 7. an

alabaster box] It was the usual cruse or
pot for ointment, with a long narrow neck,
and sealed at the top. It was thought
that the ointment kept best in these cruses.
On the nature of the ointment, see note
on "spikenard" Mark xiv. 3. his

head] His feet, according to John xii. 3.
See Luke vii. 88, and note there.
8. his disciples] Judas alone is mentioned,
John xii. 4. It may have been that some
were found ready to second his remark, but
that John, from his peculiar position at the
table, — if, as is probable, the same as in

John xiii. 23, — may not have observed it.
If so, the independent origin of the two
accounts is even more strikingly shewn,
waste] Bengel remarks, that the
word (literally, perdition) is the same
as that by which Judas himself is
called. John xvii. 12. 9. for much]

800 denarii (John), — even more than that
(Mark). On the singular relation which
these three accounts bear to one another,
see notes on Mark. 10.] It was not

only *a good work,' but a noble act of
love, which should be spoken of in all the
churches to the end of time. On ver. 11,
see notes on Mark, where it is more fully
expressed. 12. I can hardly think

that our Lord would have said this, unless
there had been in Mary's mind a distinct
reference to His burial, in doing the act.
All the company surely knew well that
His death, and that by crucifixion, was
near at hand : can we suppose one who
so closely observed his words as Mary, not
to have been possessed with the thought
of that which was about to happen ? The
"she is come aforehand to anoint" of
Mark (xiv. 8), and the " against the day
of my burying hath she kept this" of John
(xii. 7), point even more strongly to her
intention. 13.] The only case in

which our Lord has made such a pro-
mise. We cannot but be struck with
the majesty of this prophetic announce-
ment: introduced with the peculiar and
weighty verily I say unto yon,— con-
veying, by implication, the whole mystery
of* the gospel which should go forth from
His Death as its source, — looking forward
to the end of time, when it shall have

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7—16.

ST. MATTHEW.

181

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went •
unto the chief priests, 15 and said unto them, f What will f ^xVil*.
ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you ? And they
covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And
from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

been preached in the whole world, — and
specifying the fact that this deed should be
recorded wherever it is preached. We may
notice (1) that this announcement is a dis-
tinct prophetic recognition by our Lord
of the existence of written records, in
which the deed should be related ; for in
no other conceivable way could the univer-
sality of mention be brought about : (2)
that we have here (if indeed we needed it)
a convincing argument against that view
of our three first Gospels which supposes
them to have been compiled from an ori-
ginal document ; for if there had been such
a document, it must have contained this
narrative, and no one using such a Gospel
could have failed to insert this narrative,
accompanied by such a promise, in his
own work,— which St. Luke has not done :
(2) that the same consideration is equally
decisive against St. Luke having used, or
even seen, our present Gospels of Matthew
and Mark. (4) As regards the practical
use of the announcement, we see that
though the honourable mention of a noble
deed is thereby recognized by our Lord as
a legitimate source of joy to us, yet by
the very nature of the case all regard to
such mention as a motive is excluded. The
motive was love alone.

14—16.] Compact of Judas with
thb Chief Priests to betray Him.
Mark xiv. 10, 11. Luke xzii. 3—6. (See
also John ziii. 2.) When this took place,
does not appear. In all probability, im-
mediately after the conclusion of our Lord's
discourses, and therefore coincidently with
the meeting of the Sanhedrim in ver. 3.
As these verses bring before us the firet
overt act of Judas's treachery, I will give
here what appears to me the true estimate
of his character and motives. In the main,
my view agrees with that given by Nean-
der. I believe that Judas at first became
attached to our Lord with much the same
view as the other Apostles. He appears to
have been a man with a practical talent for
this world's business, which gave occasion
to his being appointed the Treasurer, or
Bursar, of the company (John xii. 6 ; xiii.
29). But the self-seeking, sensuous ele-
ment, which his character had in common
with that of the other Apostles, was deeper
rooted in him ; and the spirit and love of
Christ gained no such influence over him

as over the others, who were more disposed
to the reception of divine things. In pro-
portion as he found our Lord's progress
disappoint his greedy anticipations, did his
attachment to Him give place to coldness
and aversion. The eihibition of miracles
alone could not keep him faithful, when
once the deeper appreciation of the Lord's
divine Person failed. We find by implica-
tion a remarkable example of this in John
vi. 60 — 66, 70, 71, where the denunciation
of the one unfaithful among the Twelve
seems to point to the (then) state of his
mind, as already beginning to be scandalized
at Christ. Add to this, that latterly the
increasing clearness of the Lord's an-
nouncements of His approaching passion
and death, while they gradually opened the
eyes of the other Apostles to some terrible
event to come, without shaking their
attachment to Him, was calculated to in-
volve in more bitter disappointment and
disgust one so disposed to Him as Judas
was. The actually exciting causes of

the deed of treachery at this particular
time may have been many. The reproof
administered at Bethany (on the Saturday
evening probably), — disappointment at see-
ing the triumphal entry followed, not by
the adhesion, but by the more bitter enmity
of the Jewish authorities, — the denuncia-
tions of our Lord in ch. zxii. xxiii. render-
ing the breach irreparable,— and perhaps
His last announcement in ver. 2, making
it certain that his death would soon take
place, and sharpening the eagerness of the
traitor to profit by it: — all these may
have influenced him to apply to the chief
priests as he did. With regard to hie
motive in general, I cannot think that he
had any design but that of sordid gain, to
be achieved by the darkest treachery. See
further on this the note on ch. xxvii. 3.
15.] The verb rendered covenanted
. . . .for, may mean either weighed out, or
appointed. That the money was paid to
Judas (ch. xxvii. 3) is no decisive argument
for the former meaning ; for it may have
been paid on the delivery of Jesus to the
Sanhedrim. The " covenanted " of St. Luke
and "promised "of St. Mark would lead us
to prefer the other. thirty pieces of

silver] Thirty shekels, the price of the life
of a servant, fexod. xxi. 32. Between three
and four pounds of our money. St. Matthew

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182

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

fEzod.zil.flk
18.

!7 * Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread

is the only Evangelist who mentions the
sum. De Wette and others have supposed
that the accurate mention of the thirty
pieces of silver has arisen from the pro-
phecy of Zechariah (zi. 12), which St. Mat-
thew clearly has in view. The others have
simply " money" It is just possible that
the thirty pieces may have been merely
earnest-money : but a difficulty attends
the supposition; if so, Judas would have
been entitled to the whole on our Lord
being delivered up to the Sanhedrim (for
this was all he undertook to do) ; whereas
we find (ch. zxvii. 3) that, after our Lord's
condemnation, Judas brought only the
thirty pieces back, and nothing more. See
note there.

17 — 19.] Pbbpabation bob cele-
brating thb Pabsoybb. Mark xiv. 12 —
16. Luke xxii. 7 — 18. The whole narra-
tive which follows is extremely difficult to
arrange and account for chronologically.
Our Evangelist is the least circumstantial,
and, as will I think appear, the least exact
in detail of the three. St. Mark partially
fills up the outline; — but the account of
St. Luke is the most detailed, and I be-
lieve the most exact. It is to be noticed
that the narrative which St. Paul gives,
1 Cor. xi. 23—25, of the institution of the
Lord's Supper, and which be states he
* received from the Lord,* coincides almost
verbatim with that given by St. Luke. But
while we say this, it must not be forgotten
that over all three narratives extends the
great difficulty of explaining the first day
of unleavened bread (Matt., Mark), or
" the day of unleavened bread " (Luke),
and of reconciling the impression unde-
niably conveyed by them, that the Lord
and his disciples ate the usual Passover,
with the narrative of St. John, which not
only does not sanction, but I believe ab-
solutely excludes such a supposition. I
shall give, in as short a compass as I can,
the various solutions which have been
attempted, and the objections to them;
fairly confessing that none of them satisfy
me, and that at present I have none of
my own. I will (1) state the grounds
of the difficulty itself The day alluded
to in all four histories as that of the
supper, which is unquestionably one and
identical, is Thursday, the 13th of Nisan.
Now the day of the Passover being slain
and eaten was the 14th of Nisan (Exod.
xii. 6, 18: Lev. xxiii. 5: Numb. ix. 3;
xxviii. 16: Ezek. xlv. 21), between the
evenings (so literally in Heb.), which was
interpreted by the generality of the Jews
to mean the interval between the first

westering of the sun (3 p.m.) and his set-
ting,— but by the Karaites and Samaritans
that between sunset and darkness: — in
either case, however, the day was the
same. The feast of unleavened bread be-
gan at the very time of eating the Passover
(Exod. xii. 18), so that the first day of the
feast of unleavened bread was the V&th
(Numb, xxviii. 17). All this agrees with
the narrative of St. John, where (xiii. 1)
the last supper takes place before the feast
of the Passover — where the disciples think
(ib. ver. 29) that Judas had been directed
to buy the things which they had need of
against the feast — where the Jews (xviii.
28) would not enter into the judgment-hall,
lest they should be defiled, but that they
might eat the Passover (see note on John
xviii. 28) — where at the exhibition of our
Lord by Pilate (on the Friday at noon) it
was (xix. 14) the preparation of the Pass-
over— and where it could be said (xix. 31)
for that Sabbath day was an high day, —
being, as it was, a double Sabbath, — the
coincidence of the first day of unleavened
bread, which was sabbatically hallowed
(Exod. xii. 16), with an actual sabbath.
But as plainly, it does not agree with the
view of the three other Evangelists, who
not only relate the meal on the evening of
the 13th of Nisan to have been a Passover,
but manifestly regard it as the ordinary
legal time of eating it : *' on the first day
of unleavened bread, when they killed the
passover " (Mark xiv. 12), " when the Pass-
over must he killed" (Luke xxii. 7)v and
in our Gospel by implication, in the use of
the Passover, &c., without any qualifying
remark.

The solutions which have been proposed
are the following: (1) that the Passover
which our Lord and his disciples ate, was
not the ordinary, but an anticipatory one,
seeing that He himself was about to be
sacrificed as the true Passover at the legal
time. To this it may be objected, that
such an anticipation would have been
wholly unprecedented and irregular, in a
matter most strictly laid down by the
law : and that in the three Gospels there
is no allusion to it, but rather every thing
(see above) to render it improbable. (2)
That our Lord and his disciples ate the
Passover, but at the time observed by a
certain portion of the Jews, while He
himself was sacrificed at the time gene-
rally observed. This solution is objec-
tionable, as wanting any historical testi-
mony whereon to ground it, being in fact
a pure assumption. Besides, it is clearly
inconsistent with Mark xiv. 12: Luke

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17, 18.

ST. MATTHEW.

188

the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt
thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover ? 18 And

zzii. 7, cited above. A similar objection
lies against (3) tbe notion that our Lord
ate the Passover at the strictly legal, the
Jews at an inaccurate and illegal time.
(4) Our Lord ate only a commemorative
Passover, such as the Jews now celebrate,
and not a sacrificial Passover (Grotius).
But this is refuted by the absence of any
mention of a commemorative Passover be-
fore the destruction of Jerusalem ; besides
its inconsistency with the above-cited pas-
sages. (6) Our Lord did not eat the
Passover at all. But this is plainly not
a solution of the difficulty, but a setting
aside of one of the differing accounts :
for the three Gospels manifestly give the
impression that He did eat it. (6) The
solution offered by Chrvsostom, on our
ver. 68, is at least ingenious. The Council,
he says, did not eat their Passover at the
proper time, but "on another day, and
broke the law, because of their eagerness
about this execution .... they chose even
to neglect the Passover, that they might
fulfil their murderous desire" This had
been suggested before in a scholium of
J&usebius. But St. John's habit of noticing
and explaining all such exceptional cir-
cumstances, makes it very improbable. I
may state, as some solutions have been
sent me by correspondents, that I have
seen nothing besides the above, which jus-
tifies any extended notice.

I will conclude this note by offering a
few hints which, though not pointing to
any particular solution, ought I think to
enter into the consideration of the ques-
tion, (a) That, on the evening of the
13th (i. e. the beginning of the 14th) of
Nisan, the Lord ate a meal with his dis-
ciples, at which the announcement that
one of them should betray Him was made :
after which He went into the garden
of Gethsemane, and was betrayed (Matt.,
Mark, Luke, John) :— (b) That, in some
sense or other, this meal was regarded as
the eating of the Passover (Matt., Mark,
Luke). (The same may be inferred even
from John; for some of the disciples
must have gone into the praetorium, and
have heard the conversation between our
Lord and Pilate [John xviii. 33—381:
and as they were equally bound with the
other Jews to eat the Passover, would
equally with them have been incapa-
citated from so doing by having incurred
defilement, had they not eaten theirs pre-
viously. It would appear too, from Joseph
of Arimathaea going to Pilate during the
preparation [Mark xv. 42, 43], that he also

had eaten his passover.) (c) That it was
not the ordinary passover of the Jews :
for (Exod. xii. 22) when that was eaten,
none might go out of the house until morn-
ing ; whereas, not only did Judas go out
during the meal (John xiii. 29), but our
Lord and the disciples went out when the
meal was finished. Also when Judas went
out, it was understood that he was gone
to buy, which could not have been the
case, had it been the night of eating the
Passover, which in all years was sabbati-
cally hallowed, (d) St. John, who omits
all mention of the Paschal nature of this
meal, also omits all mention of the distri-
bution of the symbolic bread and wine.
The latter act was, strictly speaking, an-
ticipatory: the Body was not yet broken,
nor the Blood shed (but see note on ver.
26, end). Is it possible that the words
in Luke xxii. 15, 16 may have been meant
by our Lord as an express declaration of
the anticipatory nature of that Passover
meal likewise ? May they mean, * I have
been most anxious to eat this Paschal meal
with you to-night (before I suffer), for I
shall not eat it to-morrow, — I shall not eat
of it any more with you ? ' May a hint
to the same effect be intended in ' mv time
is at hand ' (ver. 18), as accounting tor the
time of making ready — may the present
tense itself (I will keep is literally I keep)
have the same reference ?

I may remark that the whole of the
narrative of St. John, as compared with the
others, satisfies me that he can never have
seen their accounts. It is inconceivable,
that one writing for the purpose avowed
in John xx. 31, could have found the three
accounts as we have them, and have made,
no more allusion to the discrepancy than
the faint (and to all appearance undesigned)
ones in ib. ch. xii. 1 ; xiii. 1, 29; xviii. 28.
17. the first day of . . . unleavened
bread] If this night had been the ordinary
time of sacrificing the Passover, the day
preceding would not indeed have been
strictly the first day of unleavened bread ;
but there is reason to suppose that it was
accounted so. The putting away leaven
from the houses was part of the work of
the day, and the eating of the unleavened
bread actually commenced in the evening.
Thus Josephus mentions eight days as con-
stituting the feast,— including this day in
it. Where wilt thou] The ' making

ready' would include the following par-
ticulars; the preparation of the guest-
chamber itself (which however in this case
was already done, see Mark xiv. 15 and

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184

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

hPBA.xII.tt.

he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him,
The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the
passover at thy house with my disciples. 19 And the
disciples did as Jesus had appointed them ; and they made
ready the passover. 2° Now when the even was come, he
sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he
said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray
me. 2* And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began
every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I ? ^ And
he answered and said, h He that dippeth his hand with me
in the dish, the same shall betray me. 2* The Son of man

note) ; — the lamb already kept up from the
10th (Exod. zii. 3) had to be slain in the
fore-court of the temple (2 Chron. xxxv.
5); — theunleavened bread, bitter herbs, Ac.,
prepared;— and the room arranged. This
report does not represent the whole that
passed : it was the Lord who sent the two
disciples; and in reply this enquiry was
made (Luke). 18.1 The person spoken

of was unknown even Dy name, as appears
from Mark and Luke, where he is to be
found by the turning in of a man with
a pitcher of water. The Lord spoke not
from any previous arrangement, as some
have thought, but in virtue of His know-
ledge, and command of circumstances.
Compare the command ch. xxi. 2 f., and
that in cb. xvii. 27. In the words to such
a man here must be involved the addi-
tional circumstance mentioned by St. Mark
and St. Luke, but perhaps unknown to our
narrator : see note on Luke xxii. 10, where
the fullest account is found. The

term the Master, common to the three
accounts, does not imply that the man was
a disciple of our Lord. It was the com-
mon practice during the feast for persons
to receive strangers into their houses gra-
tuitously, for the purpose of eating the
Passover: and in this description of Him-
self in addressing a stranger, our Lord has
a deep meaning, as (perhaps, but see note)
in the Lord in ch. xxi. 3, — ' Our Master
and thine says.' It is His form of ' press-
ing* for the service of the King of this
earth, the things that are therein.
My time is not « the time of the feast,9
but my own time, i.e. for Buffering: see
John vii. 8, and often. There is no reason
for supposing from this expression that the
man addressed was aware of its meaning.
The bearers of the message were ; and the
words, to the receiver of it, bore with them
a weighty reason of their own, which, with
such a title as the Master prefixed, he was
bound to respect. For these words we are

indebted to St. Matthew's narrative.

90—25.] Jesus, celebrating the
Passover, announces His bbtrafsr.
Mark xiv. 17—21. John xiii. 21 ff.
Our Lord and the Twelve were a full
Paschal company; ten persons was the
ordinary and minimum number. Here
come in (1) the expression of our Lord's
desire to eat this Passover before His
suffering, Luke xxii. 15, 16 ; (2) the divi-
sion of the first cup, ib. vv. 17, 18 ; (3)
the washing of the disciples' feet, John
xiii. 1—20 ( ? see note, John xiii. 22). I
mention these, not that I have any desire
to reduce the four accounts to a har-
monized narrative, for that I believe to
be impossible, and the attempt wholly un-
profitable ; but because they are additional
circumstances, placed by their narrators
at this period of the feast. I shall simi-
larly notice all such additional matter,
but without any idea of harmonizing the
apparent discrepancies of the four (as ap-
pears to me) entirely distinct and inde-
pendent reports. 21 J This announce-
ment is common to Matt., Mark, and
John. In the part of the events of the
supper which relates to Judas, St. Luke
is deficient, giving no further report of
tbem than w. 21—23. The whole minute
detail is given by St. John, who bore a con-
siderable part in it. 22.] In the ac-
counts of St. Luke and St. John, this enquiry
is made " among themselves looking one on
another." The real enquiry from the Lord
was made by John himself, owing to a sign
from Peter. This part of John's narra-
tive stands in the highest position for
accuracy of detail, and the facts related in
it are evidently the ground of the other
accounts. 23.] These first words re-
present the answer of our Lord to John's
question (John xiii. 26). The latter (ver.
24 were not said now, but (Luke, w. 21,
22)/omi«* part of the previous announce-
ment in our ver. 21. . 25.] I cannot

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19—26.

ST. MATTHEW.

185

goeth ! as it is written of him : but k woe unto that man by * 5tSS:
whom the Son of man is betrayed ! it had been good for 8Xk£.7i.
that man if he had not been born. ** Then Judas, which ***J-X% ,
betrayed him, answered and said, * Master, is it I? He ^X^T^W»

IS. ICor.

said unto him. Thou hast said. M And as they were*S{xYii!;7.

* J John xtIL 1

4 render, Rabbi.

understand these words (which are peculiar
to our Gospel) otherwise than as an imper-
fect report of what really happened, viz.
that the Lord dipped the top, and gave it
to Judas, thereby answering the general
doubt, in which the traitor had impudently
presumed to feign a share. If the question
If it 1 1 before, represented looked on one
another doubting, and was our narrator's
impression of what was in reality not a
spoken but a signified question,— why now
also should not this question and answer
represent that Judas took part in that
doubt, and was, not by word of month, hut
by a decisive sign, of which our author
was not aware, declared to be the traitor ?
Both cannot have happened; — for John
xiii. 28) no one knew (not even John, see
note there) why Judas went out ; whereas
if he had been openly (and it is out of the
question to suppose a private communica-
tion between our Lord and him) declared
to be the traitor, reason enough would
have been furnished for his immediately
leaving the chamber. (Still, consult the
note on Luke, w. 24— SO, where I have
left room for modifying this view.) v I am
aware that this explanation will give offence
to those who believe that every part of each
account may be tessellated into one con-
sistent and complete whole. Stier handles
- the above supposition very roughly, and
speaks of its upholders in no measured
terms. Valuable as are the researches of
this Commentator into the inner sense of
the Lord's words, and ready as I am to
acknowledge continual obligation to him, I
cannot but think that in the whole inter-
pretation of this part of the Gospel-history,
he and his school have fallen into the 'error
of a too minute and letter-serving exposi-
tion. In their anxiety to retain every por-
tion of every account in its strict literal
sense, they are obliged to commit many in-
consistencies. A striking instance of this
is also furnished in Mr. Birk's Hor© Evan-
gelic*©, p. 411 : where in treating of this
difficulty he says, " If we suppose St. Mat-
thew to express tho substantial meaning of
our Lord's reply, rather than its precise
words, the two accounts are easily recon-
ciled. The question of Judas might concur
with St. John's private enquiry, and the

same sign which revealed the traitor to
the beloved disciple, would be an affirma-
tive reply to himself, equivalent to the
words in the Qospel—' Tbou hast said.' "
Very true, and nearly what I have main-
tained above : but the literal harmonizen
seem to be quite blind to the fact, that this
principle of interpretation, which they use
when it suits them, is the very one against
which they so vehemently protest when
others use it, and for the use of which they
call them such hard names. On Thou hast
said, see below, ver 64* note.

26—29.] Institution of the Lord's
Suppeb. Markxiv. 22—26. Luke xxii.
19, 20. 1 Cor. xi. 23—25. We may re-
mark on this important point of our nar-
rative, (1) That it was demonstrably our
Lord's intention to found an ordinance for
those who should believe on Him; (2)
that this ordinance had some analogy with
that which He and the Apostles were then
celebrating. The first of these assertions
depends on the express word of the Apostle
Paul; who in giving directions for the
due celebration of the rite of tbe Lord's
Supper, states in relation to it that he had
received from the Lord the account of its
institution, which he then gives. He who
can set this aside, must set asido with it
all apostolic testimony whatever. The
second is shewn by the fact, that what
now took place was during the celebration
of the Passover: that the same Paul
states that Christ our Passover is sacri-
ficed for us; thus identifying the Body
broken, and Blood shed, of which the
bread and wine here are symbolic, with
the Paschal feast. (3) That the key to
the right understanding of what took
place must be found in our Lord's dis~
course after the feeding of the Ave thou-
sand in John vi., since He there, and
there only besides at this place, speaks of
His flesh and blood, in the connexion found
here. (4) It is impossible to assign to
this event its precise place in the meal. St.
Luke inserts it before the announcement
of the treason of Judas : St. Matt, and
St. Mark after it. It is doubtful whether
the accounts found in the Talmud and
elsewhere of the ceremonies in the Paschal
feast are to be depended on :— they are ex-

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186

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

"n?*?"1 eatin&> l Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and
micor.x.10. gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; mthis is my

ceedingly complicated. Thus much seems
clear, — that our Lord blessed and passed
round two cups, one before, the other after
the sapper,— and that He distributed the
unleavened cake during the meal. More
than this is conjecture. The dipping of
the hand in the dish, and dipping and
giving the sop, may also possibly corre-
spond to parts of the Jewish ceremonial.
So.] as they were eating, during
the meal, — as distinguished from the dis-
tribution of the cup, which was after it.
The definite article is before bread
in the original, but no especial stress must
be laid on it; it would be the bread
which lay before Him: see below. The
bread would be unleavened, as the day
was (see Exod. xii. 8). blessed it,

and gave thanks, amount to the same in
practice. The looking up to heaven, and
giving thanks was a virtual 'blessing' of
the meal or the bread. It was customary
in the Paschal meal for the Master, in
breaking the bread, to give thank* for the
fruit of the earth. But our Lord did
more than this : He gave thanks, as Gro-
tius observes, not only for the old creation,
but for the new also, for the redemption of
mankind, regarded as now accomplished.
From this giving of thank* for, and
blessing, the offering, the Holy Communion
has been from the earliest times also called
eueharist (eucharistia, giving of thanks).
brake it] It was a round cake
of unleavened bread, which the Lord
broke and » divided : signifying thereby
both the breaking of His body on the
Cross, and the participation in the benefits
of his death by all His. Hence the act of
communion was known by the name the
breaking of bread, Acts ii. 42. See 1 Cor.
x. 16, also Isa. lviii. 7 : Lam. iv. 4.
Take, eat] Our Gospel alone has both
words. " Eat" is spurious in Mark : both
words, in 1 Cor. xi. 24. Here, they are
undoubted: and seem to shew us (see
note on Luke, ver. 17) that the Lord did
not Himself partake of the bread or wine.
It is thought by some however that. He
did: e.g. Chrysostom, "He Himself
drank His own Blood** But the analogy
of the whole, as well as these words, and
" Drink ye all of it " below, leads us to a
different conclusion. Our Lord's non-par-
ticipation is however no rule for the ad-
ministrator . of the rite in after times.
Although in one sense he represents Christ,
blessing, breaking, and distributing; in
another, he is one of the disciples, ex-

amining himself, confessing, partaking.
Throughout all Church ministrations this
double capacity must be borne in mind.
Olshausen maintains the opposite view, and
holds that the ministrant cannot unite in
himself the two characters. But setting
the inner verity of the matter for a moment
aside, how, if so, should an unassisted
minister ever communicate ? this is

my body] this, which I now offer to yon,
this bread. The form of expression is im-
portant, not being this bread, or this wine,
but this, in both cases, or this cup, not the
bread or wine itself, but the thing in each
case i— precluding all idea of a substantial
change. is] On this much-contro-

verted word itself no stress is to be laid. In
the original tongue in which probably our
Lord spoke, it would not be expressed : and
as it now stands, it is merely the logical
copula between the subject, this, and the
predicate, my Body. The connexion of these
two will require deeper consideration. First
we may observe, as above of the subject,
so here of the predicate, that it is not
" My flesh " (although that very expres-
sion is didactically used in its general
sense in John vi. 51, as applying to the
bread), but My Body. The body is made
up of flesh and blood ; and although analo-
gically the bread may represent one and
the wine the other, the assertion here is
not to be analogically taken merely : this
which I give you, (is) my Body. Under
this is the mystery of my Body : the asser-
tion has a literal, and has also a spiritual
or symbolic meaning. And it is the literal
meaning which gives to the spiritual and
symbolic meaning its fitness and fulness.
In the literal meaning then, this (is) my
Body, we have bread, * the staff of life,'
identified with the Body of the Lord :
not that particular bread with that par-
ticular flesh which at that moment con-
stituted the Body before them, nor any
particular bread with the present Body
of the Lord in heaven : but this, the
food of man, with my body. This is
strikingly set forth in John vi. 51. Now
the mystery of the Lord's Body is, that in
and by it u all created being upheld : in
Him all things consist, Col. i. 17 ; in Him
was life, John i. 4. And thus generally,
and in the widest sense, is the Body of the
Lord the sustenance and upholding of all
living. Our very bodies are dependent
upon his, and unless by his Body standing
pure and accepted before the Father could
not exist nor be nourished. So that to all

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27, 28.

ST. MATTHEW.

187

body. *7 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave

it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it ; M for n this is my ' »*?•.«■ ***•

nseeEzod.
xxiv.8. I
ztU. 11.

living things, in this largest sense, to live,
is Christ. And all our nourishment and
means of. upholding are Christ. In this
sense his Body is the Life of the world.
Thus the fitness of the symbol for the
thing now to be signified is shewn, not
merely by analogy, but by the deep veri-
ties of Redemption. And this general and
lower sense, underlying, as it does, all the
spiritual and higher senses in John vi.f
brings us to the symbolic meaning, which
the Lord now first and expressly attaches
to this sacramental bread. Rising

into the higher region of spiritual things,
— in and by the same Body of the Lord,
standing before the Father in accepted
righteousness, is all spiritual being upheld,
but by the inward and spiritual process
of feeding upon Him by faith : of making
that Body our own, censing it to pass
into and nourish our souls, even as the
substance of the bread passes into and
nourishes our bodies. Of this feeding
upon Christ in the spirit by faith, is the
sacramental bread the symbol to us. When
the faithful in the Lord's Supper press •
with their teeth that sustenance, which is,
even to the animal life of their bodies,
the Body of Christ, whereby alone all
animated being is upheld,— they feed in
their souls on that Body of righteousness
and acceptance, by partaking of which
alone the body and soul are nourished
unto everlasting life. And as, in the more
general and natural sense, all that nou-
rishes the body is the Body of Christ
given for all,— wo to them, in the inner
spiritual sense, is the sacramental bread
symbolic of that Body given for them, —
their standing in which, in the adoption
of sons, is witnessed by the sending abroad
of the Spirit in their hearts. This last
leads us to the important addition in Luke
and 1 Cor. (but omitted here and in Mark)
which is (being given, Luke, — omitted in 1
Cor.) for you,— this do in remembrance of
me. On these words we may remark (1)
that the participle in the original is present;
and, rendered with reference to the time
when it was spoken, would be which is
being given. The Passion had already
begun; in fact the whole life on earth
was this giving and breaking, consum-
mated by his death : (2) that the com-
memorative part of the rite here enjoined
strictly depends upon the symbolic mean-
ing, and that, for its fitness, upon the
literal meaning. The commemoration is
of Him, in so far as He has come down

into Time, and enacted the great acts of
Redemption on this our world, — and shewn
himself to us as living and speaking Man,
an object of our personal love and affec-
tionate remembrance : — but the other and
higher parts of the Sacrament have regard
to the results of those same acts of Re-
demption, as they are eternised in the
counsels of the Father,— as the Lamb is
slain /torn the foundation of the world
(Rev. xiii. 8). 27. gave it] He

. gave, not to each, but once for all : in re-
markable coincidence with Luke xxii. 17.
take this and divide it amongst yourselves.
This was after the meal was ended : like-
wise also the cup after supper. (Luke
and 1 Cor.) As remarked above, it is quite
uncertain whether our Lord followed mi-
nutely the Jewish practices, and we can-
not therefore say whether the cup was one
of wine and water mixed. It hardly fol-
lows from the expression of ver. 29, of this
fruit of the vine, that it was of unmixed
wine. The word likewise (in Luke and
1 Cor.) contains our details of taking and
giving thanks in it. Ihink ye all of

it] Peculiar to Matthew, preserved how-
ever in substance by Mark's " and they all
drank of it." The all is remarkable, espe-
cially with reference to the practice of the
Church of Rome, which forbids the cup to
the laity. Calvin remarks : " Why did Re
simply command them to eat the bread,
while of the cup He commanded them all
to drink ? It is as if He had intended to
anticipate the craft of Satan." It is on
all accounts probable, and this command
confirms the probability, that Judas was
present, and partook of both parts of this
first communion. The expressions are such
thronghout as to lead us to suppose that
the same persons, the Twelve, were present.
On the circumstance mentioned John xiii.
80, which has mainly contributed to the
other opinion, see note there. 28. for

this U my blood of the [new] testament]
So St. Mark also, omitting for and new.
In Luke and 1 Cor. there is an important
verbal difference. This cup is the new
testament in my blood. But if we con-
sider the matter closely, the real difference
is but trifling, if any, Let us recur to the
paschal rite. The lamb (Christ our pass-
over) being killed, the blood (the blood of
the covenant [testament], Kxod. xxiv.
8) is sprinkled on the doorposts, and is
a sign to the destroying angel to spare
the house. The blood of the covenant is
the blood of the lamb. So also in the

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188

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

0 Sr'x?S* *1' blood ° of the [r new] testament, which is ■ shed * for many
for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will
not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that
day when I drink it new with you in my Father's king-

I. T. IS.

H«b. iz. K.

r omitted in many ancient authorities.

■ or, being shed.

new covenant. The blood of the Lamb
of God, slain for us, being not only as in
the former case, sprinkled on, but actually
partaken spiritually and assimilated by
the faithful soul, is the blood of the new
covenant; and the sacramental cup, is,
signifies, sets forth (1 Cor. xi. 26), this
covenant in His blood, i. e. consisting in a
participation in His blood. With this ex-
planation let us recur to the words in our
text. First it will be observed that there
is not here that absolute assertion which
"this is My body" conveyed. It is not
" this is my blood" absolutely. Wine, in
general, does not represent by itself the
effects (on the creation) of the blood of
Christ ; it, like every other nourishment of
the body, is nourishment to us fly and in
Him, forasmuch as in Him all things con-
sist: but there is no peculiar propriety
whereby it is to us his Blood alone. But
it is made so by a covenant office which it
holds in his own declaration. Without
shedding of blood, was no remission of sins
under the old covenant : and blood was,
throughout, the covenant sign of forgive-
ness and acceptance. Now all this blood
of sacrifice finds its true reality and fulfil-
ment in the blood of Christ, shed for the
remission of sins. This is the very pro-
mise of the new covenant, see Heb. viii.
8 — 13, as distinguished from the old : the
remission of sins, once for all, — whereas
the old bad continual offerings, which
could not do this, Heb. x. 3, 4. And of
this remission, the result of the outpouring
of the blood of Christ,— -first and most
generally in bringing all creation into re-
conciliation with the Father (see Col. i.
20),— secondly and individually, in the
application by faith of that blood to the
believing soul, — do the faithful in the
Lord's Supper partake. which is [be-

ing] shed for many {for you, Luke)] On
the present participle, see above. The
situation of the words in Luke is remark-
able ; for the cup is the subject of the
sentence, and the new testament the pre-
dicate. See note there. many] See
note, ch. xx. 28. Compare also Heb. ix. 28.
for the remission of sins] Peculiar
to Matthew : see above. The connexion is
not " Drink it . . . for the remission of
sins." In the Sacrament, not the forgive-

ness of sins itself, but the refreshing and
confirming assurance of that state of for-
giveness is conveyed. The disciples (with
one exception) were clean before the insti-
tution : John xiii. 10, 11. St. Paul, in
1 Cor. xi. 25, repeats the Do this as oft as
ye drink it in remembrance of Me. On
the words as oft as ye drink it, see note
there. In concluding this note, I will

observe that it is not the office of a Com-
mentator to enter the arena of controversy
respecting transubstantiation, further than
by his interpretation his opinions are made
apparent. It will be seen how entirely op-
posed to such a dogma is the view above
given of the Sacrament. Once introduce
it, and it utterly destroys both the verity of
Christ1 s Body, and the sacramental nature
of the ordinance. That it has done so, is
proved (if further need be) by the mutila-
tion of the Sacrament, and disobedience to
the divine command, in the Church of
Borne. See further notices of this in notes
on I Cor. x. 16, and on John vi.
29.] This declaration I believe to be dis-
tinct from that in Luke xxii. 18. That
was spoken over the first cup— this over
one of the following. In addition to what
has been said on Luke, we may observe,
(1) that our Lord still calls the sacramental
cup the fruit of the vine, although by Him-
self pronounced to be His Blood : (2) that
these words carry on the meaning and
continuance of this eucharistic ordinance,
even into the new heavens and new earth.
As Thiersch excellently says, " The Lord's
Supper points not only to the past, but to
the future also. It has not only a comme-
morative, but also a prophetic meaning. In
it we have not only to shew forth the Lord's
death, until He come, but we have also to
think of the time when He shall come to
celebrate his holy Supper with his own,
new, in his Kingdom of Glory. Every
celebration of the Lord's Supper is a fore-
taste and prophetic anticipation of the great
Marriage Supper which is prepared for the
Church at the second appearing of Christ.
This import of the Sacrament is declared
in the words of the Lord, ' I will not drink
henceforth, &c* These words ought never
to be omitted in any liturgical form of ad-
ministering the Communion."

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£9—34.

ST. MATTHEW.

189

dom. 8° And when they had sung an hymn, they went

out into the mount of Olives. 81 Then saith Jesus unto

them, q All ye shall be offended because of me this night : q Jh?"XIW"

for it is written, r I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep rzwM.xiu.7.

of the flock shall be scattered abroad. 32 But after I am

risen again, 8I will go before you into Galilee. M Peter ■j.«Tlll>71

answered and said unto him, Though all [* men] shall be

offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

84 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this

night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

* not expressed in the original : it may mean, All [the disciples] .

30 — 35.] Declaration that all
should forsake hlm. confidence 07
Peter. Mark xiv. 26—31. See Lake
xxii. 31—38: John xiii. 36—38. Here,

accurately speaking perhaps between sing-
ing the hymn and going out, come in the
discourses and prayer of our Lord in
John xiv. xv. xvi. xvii., spoken (see
note on John xiv. 31) without change
of place in the supper-chamber.
The hymn was in all probability the
last part of that which the Jews called
the Hallel, or great Hallel, which con-
sisted of Psalms cxv. — cxviii. ; the for-
mer part (Psalms cxiii. cxiv.) having
been sung during the meal. It is un-
likely that this took place after the
solemn prayer in John xvii. 30. went

out] St. Luke (ver. 39) adds "as he was
wont " — namely, every evening since his
return to Jerusalem. 31.1 All (em-

phatic) ye seems to be used as distinguish-
ing' those present from the one, who had
gone out. offended] The word is

here used in a pregnant meaning, including
what followed, — desertion, and, in one case,
denial. for it it written] This is a

very important citation, and has been
much misunderstood ; how much, may ap-
pear from Grotius's remark, that Zecha-
riah's words are not directly alluded to :
nay, that in them rather is the saying used
of some bad shepherd. But, on the con-
trary, if we examine Zech. xi. xii. xiii.,
we must I think come to the conclusion
that the shepherd spoken of xi. 7—14,
who is rejected and sold, who is said to
have been pierced (xii. 10), is also spoken
of in ch. xiii. 7. Stier has gone at length
into the meaning of the whole prophecy,
and especially that of the word * my fellow/
and shewn that the reference can be to no
other than the Messiah. 32.] In this

announcement our Lord seems to have in
mind the remainder of the verse in Zecha-
riah; "and I will turn mine hand upon

the little ones." As this could not be
cited in any intelligible connexion with
present circumstances, our Lord gives the
announcement of its fulfilment, in a pro-
mise to precede them (a pastoral office, see
John x. 4) into Galilee, whither they should
naturally return after the feast was over :
see ch. xxviii. 7, 10, 16. 83.] Nothing
can bear a greater impress of exactitude
than this reply. Peter had been before
warned (see note on Luke, w. 31—84);
and still remaining in the same spirit of
self-confident attachment, now that he is
included among the all, not specially
addressed, — breaks out into this assevera-
tion, which carries completely with it the
testimony that it was not the first. Men do
not bring themselves out so strongly, unless
their fidelity has been previously attainted.

34.] The very words in their order
are, I doubt not, reported by St. Mark, —
" This day, even in this night, before the
cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me
thrice*" The contrast to Peter's boast, and
the climax, is in these words the strongest ;
and the inference also comes out most
clearly, that they likewise were not now
said for the first time. The first cock-

crowing is at midnight : but inasmuch as
few hear it, — when the word is used gene-
rally; we mean the second crowing, early
in the morning, before dawn. If this view
be taken, the cock-crowing and double cock-
crowing amount to the same— only the
latter is the more precise expression. It
is most likely that Peter understood this
expression as only a mark of time, and
therefore received it, as when it was
spoken before, as merely an expression of
distrust on the Lord's part; it was this
solemn and circumstantial repetition of it
which afterwards struck upon his mind,
when the sign itself was literally fulfilled.

A question has been raised whether
cocks were usually kept or even allowed
in Jerusalem. No such bird is mentioned

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190

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

85 Peter said unto him, Though I n should die with thee,
yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the dis-
ciples.

36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called

u render, must.

in the O. T., and the Mischna states that
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the
priests every where, kept no fowls, because
they scratched np unclean worms. But
the Talmud is here not consistent with
itself: and Lightfoot brings forward a
story which proves it. And there might
be many kept by the resident Romans,
over whom the Jews had no power.
We must not overlook the spiritual para-
bolic import of this warning. Peter stands
here as a representative of all disciples who
deny or forget Christ — and the watchful
bird that cries in the night is that warning
voice which 'speaketh once, yea twice,' to
call them to repentance: see Bom. xiii.
11, 12. 85.] This though I must again
appears to have the precision of a repeated
asseveration. St. Mark has the stronger ex-
pression " he spake the more vehemently**
which even more clearly indicates that the
die with thee was not now first said. The
rest said it, but not so earnestly perhaps ;
— at all events, Peter's confidence cast
theirs into the shade.

86 — 46.] Oub Lobd's agony at
Gbthbbmaxb. Mark xiv. 32—42. Luke
xxii. 39—46. John xviii. 1. The account
of the temptation, and of the agony in
Oethsemane is peculiar to the three first
Evangelists. But it does not therefore
follow that there is, in their narratives,
any inconsistency with St. John's setting
forth of the Person of Christ. For it
must be remembered, that, as we find in
their accounts frequent manifestations of
the divine nature, and indications of future
glory, about, and during this conflict, —
so in St. John's account, which brings out
more the divine side of our Lord's working
and speaking, we find frequent allusions to
his human weahnese and distress of spirit.
For examples of the first, see vv. 13, 24, 29,
32, 53, and the parallels in Mark and Luke ;
and Luke xxii. 80, 32, 37, 48 ; of the latter,
John xii. 27; xiii. 21; xiv. 30; xvi. 32.
The right understanding of the
whole important narration must be ac-
quired by bearing in mind the reality of
the manhood of our Lord, in all its abase-
ment and weakness : — by following out in
Him the analogy which pervades the
characteristics of human suffering— the
strength of the resolved spirit, and calm

of the resigned will, continually broken in
upon by the inward giving way of human
feebleness, and limited power of endurance.
But as in us, so in the Lord, these seasons
of dread and conflict stir not the ruling
will, alter not the firm resolve. This is
most manifest in His first prayer — if it be
possible—' if consistent with that work
which 1 have covenanted to do.' Here is
the reserve of the will to suffer — it is
never stirred (see below). The conflict
however of the Lord differs from ours in
this, — that in us, the ruling will itself is
but a phase of our human will, and may
be and is often carried away by the excess
of depression and suffering; whereas in
Him it was the divine Personality in
which the higher Will of the covenant
purpose was eternally fixed, — struggling
with the flesh now overwhelmed with an
horrible dread, and striving to escape
away (see the whole of Ps. lv.). Besides
that, by that uplifting into a superhuman
circle of Knowledge, with which the in-
dwelling of the Godhead endowed His
humanity, His flesh, with all its capacities
and apprehensions, was brought at once
into immediate and simultaneous contact
with every circumstance of horror and
pain that awaited Him (John xviii. 4),
which is never the case with us. Not
only are the objects of dread gradually
unveiled to our minds, but hope is ever
suggesting that things may not be so bad
as our fears represent them. Then we

must not forget, that as the flesh gave
way under dread of suffering, so the human
soul was troubled with all the attendant
circumstances of that suffering — betrayal,
desertion, shame (see Ps. lv. again, vv.
12—14, 20, 21; xxxviii. 11, 12; lxxxviii.
al.). Nor again must we pass over the
last and deepest mystery of the Passion —
the consideration, that upon the holy and
innocent Lamb of God rested the burden
of all human sin— that to Him, death, as
the punishment of sin, bore a dark and
dreadful meaning, inconceivable by any of
us, whose inner will is tainted by the love
of sin. See on this part of the Redeemer's
agony, Ps. -xl. 12 ; xxxviii. 1 — 10. See
also as a comment on the whole, Heb. v.
7 — 10, and notes there. The three

accounts do not differ in any important

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85—39.

ST. MATTHEW.

191

Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here,
while I go and pray yonder. 87 And he took with him
Peter and Hhe two sons of Zebedee, and began to betch-,vn-
sorrowful and very heavy. 3* Then saith he unto them,
nMy soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry n John ru. 27.
ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little

particulars. St. Luke merely gives a general
summary of the Lord's prayers and his say-
ings to the disciples, but inserts (see below)
two details not found in the others. St.
Mark's account and St. Matthew's are very
nearly related, and have evidently sprung
from the same source. 36.] St. Mark

alone, besides our account, mentions the
name of the place — St. Luke merely calls
it " the place** in allusion to " as he teas
wont" before. St. John informs us that it
was a garden. The name signifies ' an oil
press.' It was at the foot of the Mount
of Olives, in the valley of the Kedron, the
other side of the brook from the city
(John xviii. 1). while I go and pray]

Such is the name which our Lord gives
to that which was coming upon Him, in
speaking to the Eight who were not to
witness it. All conflict of the holy soul is
prayer: all its struggles are continued
communion with God. In Gen. xxii. 5,
when Abraham's faith was to be put to so
sore a trial, he says, ' I and the lad will
go yonder and worship* Our Lord (almost
on the same spot) unites in Himself, as the
priest and victim, as Stier strikingly re-
marks, Abraham's Faith and Isaac's Pa-
tience, yonder— probably some spot
deeper in the garden's shade. At this
time the gorge of the Kedron would be
partly in the moonlight, partly shaded by
the rocks and buildings of the opposite
side. It may have been from the moon-
light into the shade that our Lord retired
to pray. 87.] These three— Peter,
the foremost in attachment, and profession
of it— the two sons of Zebedee, who were
to drink of the cup that He drank of— He
takes with Him, not only nor principally
as witnesses of his trial— this indeed, in
the full sense, they were not — but as a
consolation to Him in that dreadful hour
— to ' watch with Him.' In this too they
failed — yet from his returning to them
between his times of prayer, it is manifest
that, in the abasement of his humanity,
He regarded them as some comfort to him.
" In great trials we love solitude, but to
have friends near." Bengel. he began
— not merely idiomatic here — began, as He
had never done before. to be sorrow-
ful] sore amazed, Mark. very heavy]

literally, as generally interpreted, utterly
prostrate with grief. 88.] Oar Lord's

whole inmost life must have been one of
continued trouble of spirit — He was a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief
—but there was an extremity of anguish
now, reaching even to the utmost limit of
endurance, so that it seemed that more
would be death itself. The expression is
said to be proverbial (see Jonah iv. 9) ;
but we must remember that though with
us men, who see from below, proverbs are
merely bold guesses at truth, — with Him,
who sees from above, they are the truth
itself, in its very purest form. So that
although when used by a man, a prover-
bial expression is not to be pressed to
literal exactitude, — when used by our
Lord, it is, just because it is a proverb, to
be searched into and dwelt on all the
more. The expression my soul, in

this sense, spoken by our Lord, is only
found besides in John xii. 27. It is the
human soul, the seat of the affections and
passions, which is troubled with the an-
guish of the body ; and it is distinguished
from the spirit, the higher spiritual being.
Our Lord's soul was crushed down even to
death by the weight of that anguish which
lay upon Him— and that literally — so that
He (as regards his humanity) would have
died, had not strength (bodily strength,
upholding his human frame) been minis-
tered from on high by an angel (see note
on Luke xxii. 43). watch with me]

not pray with me, for in that work the
Mediator must be alone ; but (see above)
watch with Me— just (if we may compare
our weakness with His) as we derive com-
fort in the midst of a terrible storm, from
knowing that some are awake and with us,
even though their presence is no real safe-
guard. 89.] went a little farther
(Matt., Mark): was withdrawn from
them about a stone's cast, Luke, who in
this description is the more precise. The
verb, in the original, implies something
more than mere removal from them —
something of the reluctance of parting.

The distance would be very small,
not above forty or fifty yards. Hence
the disciples might well catch the lend-
ing words of our Lord's prayers, before

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193

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

T Heh. ▼. 7.
w John xll. S7.
x eh. xx. ».

farther, and fell on his face, and T prayed, saying, w O my
Father, if it be possible, x let this cup pass from me :
nevertheless * not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he
cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and
saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one
iEph.Yi.i8. hour? 4l ■ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temp-

y John t. 80 1
vLSS. Rom.
XT. 8. Phil.
11.8.

drowsiness overpowered them. Luke has
however only kneeled down, which is
not so full as our occount. prayed]

Sticr finely remarks: 'This was in truth
a different prayer from tha't which went
before, which John has recorded/ But
still in the same spirit, uttered by the
same Son of God and Redeemer of men.
The glorifying (John xvii. 1) begins with
suffering, as the previous words, the hour
it come, might lead us to expect. The
* power over all flesh ' shews itself first as
power of the conflicting and victorious
Bpirit over his own flesh, by virtue of
which He is 'one of us.' St. Mark

expresses the substance of the prayer, and
interprets cup by hour. St. Luke's report
differs only in verbal expression from St.
Matthew's. In the address, we have hero
and in Luke Father — in Mark Abba,
Father, In all, and in the prayer itself,
there is the deepest feeling and apprehen-
sion in the Redeemer's soul of his Son-
ship and the unity of the Father — the
most entire and holy submission to His
Will. We must not for a moment think
of the Father's wrath abiding on Him
as the cause of his suffering. Here is
no fear of wrath, — but, in the depth of
His human anguish, the very tenderness
of filial love.

The variation in Mark and Luke in the
substance of the prayer, though slight, is
worthy of remark. if it be possible,

— all things are possible with thee, — if
thou be willing. All these three find their
union in one and the same inward feeling.
That in the text expresses, ' If, within the
limits of thy holy will, this may be ;'— that
in Mark, ' All things are (absolutely) pos-
sible to Thee— Thou canst therefore— but
not what I will, but what thou wilt .•' —
that in Luke, * If it be thy will to re-
move, Ac. (Thou canst) i but not my will,
but thine be done.' The very words used
by our Lord, the Holy Spirit has not seen
fit to give us; shewing us, even in this
solemn instance, the comparative indif-
ference of the letter, when we have the
inner spirit. That our Lord should have
uttered all three forms of the prayer, is
not for a moment to be thought of; and
such a view could only spring out of the

most petty and unworthy appreciation of
the purpose of Scripture narrative.
pais from me] as we should say of a
threatening cloud, 'It has gone over.'
But what is the cup or hour, of which our
Lord here prays that it may pass by?
Certainly, not the mere present feebleness
and prostration of the bodily frame: not
any mere section of his sufferings — but
the whole — the betrayal, the trial, the
mocking, the scourging, the cross, the
grave, and all besides which our thoughts
cannot reach. Of this all, His soul, in
humble subjection to the higher Will,
which was absolutely united and harmo-
nious with the Will of the Father, prays
that if possible it may pass over. And
this prayer was heard— see Heb. v. 7 —
" in that he feared " — on account of His
pious resignation to the Father's will, or
on the ground of it, so that it prevailed —
He was strengthened from Heaven. He
did indeed drink the cup to the dregs —
but He was enabled to do it, and this
strengthening was the answer to his prayer,
nevertheless not as I will . . . .]
The Monothelite heresy, which held but
one will in the Lord Jesus, is here plainly
convicted of error. The distinction is
clear, and marked by our Lord Himself.
In bis human soul, He willed to be freed
from the dreadful things before Him — but
this human will was overruled by the
inner and divine purpose — the will at
unity with the Father's will.
40.] St. Mark agrees, except in relating the
beginning of the address in the singular —
— no doubt accurately — for it was Peter
(" Simon, who was no Peter on this occa-
sion," Stier), who had pledged himself to
go with him to prison and death.
The question is literally could ye thus not
watch . . . P — it implies their utter inability,
as shewn by their present state of slumber,
Are ye so entirely unable, &c one

hour need not imply that our Lord had
been absent a whole hour: — if it is to be
taken in any close meaning, it would be
that the whole trial would last about that
time. But most likely it is in allusion
to the time of our Lord's trial, so often
called by that name. 41.] St. Luke gives
this command at the beginning and end

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40—46.

ST. MATTHEW.

193

tation : the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if this [v cup] may not pass away
\yrfrom me\y except I drink it, thy will be done. ^ And
he came and found them asleep again : for their eyes were
heavy. ** And he left them, and went away again, and
prayed [x the third time], saying the same words. tt Then
cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on
now, and take your rest : behold, the hour is at hand, and
the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going : behold, he is at hand that doth
betray me.

v omit. w omit, x omitted by ancient authorities.

of the whole; hat his account is manifestly
only a compendium, and not to be pressed
chronologically. The command has respect
to the immediate trial which was about to
try them, and (for watch is a word of
habit, not merely, as " arise" Eph. v. 15,
or "awake to righteousness" 1 Cor. xv.
34, one of immediate import) also to the
general duty of all disciples in all time.

enter into temptation is not to come
into temptation merely, to be tempted:
this lies not in our own power to avoid,
and its happening is rather joy than sor-
row to us — see James i. 2, where the word
is "fall into9* — but it implies an entering
into 'temptation with the will, and enter-
taining of the temptation. Compare "fall
into temptation" used in this sense, 1 Tim.
vi. 9. the spirit . . .] I cannot doubt

that this is said by our Lord in its most gene-
ral meaning, and that He himself is included
in it. At that moment He was giving as
high and pre-eminent an example of its
truth, as the disciples were affording a low
and ignoble one. He, in the willingness
of the spirit — yielding Himself to the
Father's will to suffer and die, but weighed
down by the weakness of the flesh : they,
having professed, and really having, a will-
ing spirit to suffer with Him, but, even in
the one hour's watching, overcome by the
burden of drowsiness. Observe it is here
spirit, not soul; and compare ver. 88 and
note. To enter further into the depths of
this assertion of our Lord would carry us
beyond the limits of annotation : but see
Stier's remarks, vi. 237—242.' 42.]

St. Mark merely says of this second prayer,
" he . . . jpake the same words.*9 St. Luke
gives it as "prayed more earnestly" —
and relates in addition, that His sweat was
like the fall of drops of blood on the
ground : see notes on Luke xxii. 44. At

Vol. I.

what precise time the angel appeared to
Him is uncertain : I should be inclined to
think, after the first prayer, before He
came to His disciples. The words are

not exactly the same: "the Lord knew
that the Father always heard Him (John
xi. 42) ; and therefore He understands the
continuance of His trial as the answer to
His last words, as Then wilt." Stier.
Here therefore the prayer is If it be not
possible .... Thy will be done. It is
spoken in the fulness of% self-resignation.
48.] St. Mark adds, and it is a note
of accuracy, ** neither wist they what to an-
swer him." 44. ] the same, viz. as the last.
This third prayer is merely indicated in
Mark, by " he cometh the third time" on
our Lord's return. 46, 46.] The clause
Bleep on now, Ac., has been variously un-
derstood. To take it interrogatively {"are
ye sleeping " $c. T), does not improve the
sense, and makes an unnatural break in the
sentence, which proceeds indicatively after-
wards. It seems to me that there can be but
two ways of interpreting it — and both with
an imperative construction. (1) Either it
was said bona fide, — " Since ye are not able
to watch with Me, now ye may sleep on —
for my hour is come, and I am about to be
taken from you' — which sen&e however is
precluded bv the " Rise, let us be going"
below : or (2) it was said with an under-
standing of ' if you can,' as Bengel; if you
hear not Me arousing you, there will
speedily come others who will arouse you.
" Meanwhile, sleep, if ye will." behold,
the hour is at hand] "it is enough, the hour
is come," Mark. ' It is enough*— enough of
reproof to them for drowsiness— enough of
exhortations to watch and pray — that was
now coming which would cut all this short.
This first behold is hardly to be taken
literally of the appearance of Judas and
O

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194

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

•Actsi.ie. 47 And » while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve,
came, and with him a great multitude with swords and
staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he that* betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he : hold him fast.
* *• And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master :

b i Bam. xx. 9. '

cp..xii.9: it. b 5^^ tigged him. 60 And Jesus said unto him, c y Friend,

7 or, Comrade. It is the same word as in ch. xi. 16 ; xx. 13 ; xxii. 12 : but
not the same as in John xi. 11 ; xv. 13, 14, 15.

his band; it merely announces the ap-
proach of the hour, of which the Lord
had so often spoken : but at the utterance
of the second, it seems that they were in
sight, and that may be taken literally.
This expression, into the hands of sinners,
should be noticed, as an echo of the
Redeemer's anguish— it was the contact
with sin,— and death, the wages of *»*,—
which all through His trial pressed heavily
on His soul.

47-08.] Betrayal and apprehen-
sion of Jesus. Mark xiv. 48—52. Luke
xxii. 47— 53. John xviii. 2— 11. St. Mark's
account has evidently been derived from the
same source originally as St. Matthew's, but
both had gained some important additions
before they were finally committed to writ-
ing. St. Luke's is, as* before, an abridged
narrative, but abounding with new circum-
stances not related by the others. St. John's
account is at first sight very dissimilar from
either; see text above cited, and notes
there. It may suffice now to say, that all
which St. John, vv. 4 — 9, relates, must have
happened on the first approach of the band
—and is connected with our "Rise, let us
be going" .Some particulars also must
have happened, which are omitted by all :
viz. the rejoining of the eight apostles (not
alluded to in Luke, ver. 46, as Ores well sup-
poses), and the preparing them for what
was about to take place. On the other
hand, John gives a hint that something
had been passing in the garden, by his
" went forth," ver. 4. The two first Evan-
gelists were evidently unaware of any such
matter as that related by St. John, for they
(Matt. ver. 4£: Mark ver. 45) introduce
the Kiss by a "forthwith." 47.1

Judas is specified as " one of the Twelve,
probably because the appellation, as con-
nected with this part of his history, had
become the usual one — thus wc have in
Luke " he that was called Judas, one of
the Twelve "— fuller still. To the reader,
this specification is not without meaning,
though that meaning may not have been
intended. a great multitude] con-

sisting of (1) a detachment of the Roman
cohort which was quartered in the tower
of Antonia during the feast in case of an
uproar, called the band, John w. 3, 12.
(2) the servants of the council, the same
as the captains of the temple, Luke ver.
62. (3) Servants and others deputed from
the high priest to assist, see our ver. 51.
(4) Possibly, if the words are to be taken
exactly, (Luke ver. 52), some of the chief
priests and elders themselves, forward in
zeal and enmity. There is nothing im-
probable in this, seeing that we have these
persons mixing among the multitude and
stirring them up to demand the crucifixion
of Jesus afterwards. staves] any

tumultuary weapons. The intention of the
chief priests evidently was to produce an
impression to the effect that a seditious
plot was to be crushed, and resistance
might be expected. John mentions also
lanterns and torches — to search perhaps in
the dark parts of the garden, most of
which would by this time be in the shade.
48.1 gave them a sign;— when is not
stated. On St. Mark's addition, " and lead
him away safely," see notes there. 49.]
forthwith— see above on ver. 47. The pur-
pose of the kiss, supposing it to have taken
place after John vv. 4 — 8, (and it is surely
out of the question to suppose it to have
taken place before, contrary to the plain
meaning of John ver. 4,) has been doubted.
Tet 1 think on a review of what had hap-
pened, it is very intelligible — not perhaps
as some have supposed, to shew that Jesus
could be approached with safety — but at
all events as the sign agreed on with the
Roman soldiers, who probably did not per-
sonally know Him, and who besides would
have had their orders from the city, to
take Him whom Judas should kiss. Thus
the kiss would be necessary in the course
of their military duty, as their authoriza-
tion,—notwithstanding the previous decla-
ration by Jesus of Himself. The word in
the original implies, ' kissed him eagerly,'
with ostentation, as a studied and pre-
arranged sign. 50.] In Luke we have

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47—58.

ST. MATTHEW.

195

wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid

hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of

them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and

drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's,

and smote off his ear. 62 Then said Jesus unto him, Put

up again thy sword into his place : d for all they that take *g«i.ix.«

the sword shall perish with the sword. 63 Thiukest thou

that I cannot ■ now pray to my Father, and he shall

1 presently give me emore than twelve legions of angels ?*S£?Kil7'

, i One, of these, "now,'* or "presently," should be omitted. The word is read by
some authorities in the former clause, by some in the latter : but by none in both.

" Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man
with a kiss ?" — which sense is involved in
the text also : that variation shewing per-
haps that one of the accounts is not from
an eye-witness. Friend — see ch. xxii.

12 and note. It is more than doubtful
whether the words that follow can pro-
perly he rendered as a question. More
likely do they mean, " Friend, there needs
not this shew of attachment: I know
thine errand,— do thy purpose." But the
command itself is suppressed. On any un-
derstanding of the words, it is an appeal
to the conscience and heart of Judas, in
which sense (see above) it agrees with
the words spoken in Luke:— see note
there. The fact that at this period our
Lord was laid hold of and secured (by hand
— not yet bound) by the band, is impor-
tant, as interpreting St. Luke's account
further on. 51.] The one of them . . .

was Peter ; — John ver. 10. Why he was
not mentioned, is idle to enquire: one
supposition only must be avoided — that
there is any purpose in the omission. It
is absurd to suppose that the mention of
his name in a book current only among
Christians, many years after the fact,
could lead to his apprehension, which did
not take place at the time, although he
was recognized as the striker in the palace
of the High Priest, John ver. 26. The real
reason of the non-apprehension was that
the servant was healed by the Lord.
This is the first opposition to * Thy will be
done.' St. Luke expresses it, that they saw
what would happen — and asked, 'Lord,
shall we smite with the sword?' Then,
while the other (for there were but two
swords in the company) was waiting for .
the reply, the rash Peter, in the very
spirit of ch. xvi. 22, smote with the sword
— the weapon of the flesh :— an outbreak
of the natural man no less noticeable than
that more-noticed one which followed be*
fore morning. All four Evangelists

agree in this account. Luke and John
are most exact — the latter giving the
name of the slave, — Malchus. The

aim was a deadly one, and Peter narrowly
escaped being one "who had committed
murder in the insurrection.'9 From Luke,
ver. 51, we learn that our Lord said " Suf-
fer ye thus far " (on the meaning of which
see note there), touched the ear, and healed
it. 52.] thy sword— not mine, nor

on my side. his place = " the sheath,"
John. The sheath is the place for the
Christian's sword — "a sword out of its
sheath is not in its place, unless as minis-
tering to the divine anger," Bengel; see
note on Luke xxii. 96. Our Lord does
not ssy ' Cast away thy sword ;' only in
His willing self-sacrifice, and in that king-
dom which is to be evolved from his work
of redemption, is the sword altogether out
of place. for all &c.] Peculiar to Mat-

thew. There is no allusion, as Grotius and
some of the ancients thought, to the Jews
perishing by the Roman sword : for the
very persons who were now taking Him
were Romans. The saying is general —
and the stress is on take— it was this that
Peter was doing — 'taking up the sword'
of his own will; taking that vengeance
which belongs to God, into his own hand.

shall perish with the sword is a
command; not merely a future, but an
imperative future ; a repetition by the
Lord in this solemn moment of Gen. ix. 6.
This should be thought of by those well-
meaning but shallow persons, who seek to
abolish the punishment of death in Chris-
tian states. John adds the words
" the cup which my lather hath given me,
shall I not drink it t" on which see notes
there. 68, 64 are peculiar to Matthew.

68.] The Majesty of our Lord, and
His Patience, are both shewn here,
twelve— not perhaps so much from the
number of the apostles, who were now
"the eleven," but from that of the then
2

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196

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVI.

r ^SlUim M -^u* ^ow ^en B^a^ ^e scrip*areB b® fulfilled, f that thus
uiY.stH ^ must be? 55 In that same hour said Jesus to the mul-
titudes, Are ye come out as against * a thief with swords
and staves for to take me ? I sat daily with you teaching
in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 66 But all this
D was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be
fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled.
5? And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to
Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders
were assembled. M But Peter followed him afar off unto

• render, a robber.

company, viz. the Lord and the eleven.

legions— because they were Roman
soldiers who were taking Him. The com-
plement of the legion was about 6000 men.
The power implied in thinkest thou that I .
cannot, shews the entire and continued
free self-resignation of the Lord through-
out— and carries on the same truth as He
expressed John x. 18. 54. J how than

— considering that this is so, that I volun-
tarily abstain from invoking such heavenly
aid,— shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that
thus it must be, if thou in tby rashness
usest the help of fleshly weapons ?
55.] St. Mark begins this with an answered
— it was an answer to their actions, not
to their words. St. Luke, here minutely
accurate, informs us that it was to the
chief priests and captains of the temple
and elders, that our Lord said this.

In his submission to be reckoned
among the transgressors, our Lord yet
protests against any suspicion that He
could act as such. tat (Matt, only)

to indicate complete quiet and freedom
from attack. daily— during the week

past, and perhaps at other similar times.

aat teaching is the greatest possible
contrast to a thief and robber. 56.]

It is doubted whether these words are a con-
tinuation of our Lord's speech, or a remark
inserted by St. Matthew. The use of" all
this was (is) done" in this Gospel would
lead us to the latter conclusion : but when
we reflect that thus our Lord's speech
would lose all its completeness, and that St.
Mark gives in different words the speech
going on to this same purport, we must I
think decide for the other view. Besides,
if the remark were St. Matthew's, we should
expect some particular citation, as is else-
where his practice : see ch. i. 22 ; xxl 4.
Mark gives it elliptically, "but (so literally)
that the scriptures might be fulfilled**
The Passion and Death of Christ were

D render, ifl done.

especially the fulfilment of the Scriptures.
In this they all found their central point.
Compare his dying words on the Cross, —
It is finished, — with this his assertion.
On the addition in Luke, see note there.
Than all] Some of them did not
flee far. Peter and John went after Him
to the palace of the High Priest; John,
ver. 15. On the additional circumstance
in Mark, ver. 51, see note there.

57—65.] Hearing bbfqbb Caiaphas.
Mark xiv. 53—65. [Luke xxii. 54, 63 —
65.] John xviii. 24. Previous to Lhis took
place a hearing before Annas the real
High Priest (see note on Luke iii. 2), to
whom the Jews took Jesus first; — who
enquired of Him about his disciples and
his teaching (John vv. 19—23), and then
(yet. 24) sent Him bound to Caiaphas.
Only John, who followed, relates this first
hearing. See notes on John vv. 12 — 24,
where this view is maintained. It may
be sufficient here just to indicate the
essential differences between that hearing
and this. On that occasion no witnesses
were required, for it was merely a private
unofficial audience. Then the High Priest
questioned and our Lord replied : whereas
now, under false witness and reproach.
He (as before Herod) is silent.

57. Caiaphas the high priest] He was
High Priest of that year, Annas having
been deposed, and since then the High
Priests having been frequently changed by
the Roman governors. where the

scribes . . .] Probably they had assembled
by a preconcerted design, expecting their
prisoner. This was a meeting of the San-
hedrim, but not the regular assembly,
which condemned him and handed Him
over to Pilate. That took place in the
morning, Luke xxii. 66—71 (where see
note). We have not here the more

complete detail of John xviii. 15 — 19. The
palace is one and the same great building,

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54—64.

ST. MATTHEW.

197

the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the
servants, to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests, [°and
elders,] and all the council, sought false witness against
Jesus, to put him to death ; *° d but found none : yea, though
* many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last
came h two false witnesses, fll and said, This [• fellow] said,
1 1 am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in
three days. fl2 And the high priest arose, and said unto
him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these
witness against thee ? 6S But k Jesus held his peace.
And the high priest answered and said unto him, I
adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether
thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 6* Jesus saith unto
him, Thou hast said : nevertheless I say unto you, m f Here-

VPi.zxt1I.1Si
xxxY.ll.ao
Act* Ti. 18.

b Dent. six. 16.

ieh.xxTil.40.
John U. 10.

kTM.llH.7.

cb. xxrii. IS,

14.
lieeLer.T.l.

1 8am. xlv.

S4,S*.
m Dan. rtl. IS.

oh. xyI. S7 :

xxIt. SO i

ixt SI. John

1.51. Rom.

XiT. 10.

1 Them. It.

10. Bot.1.7.

9 omitted by many ancient authorities.

d read, but found none, even though many false witnesses came.

e not expressed in the original. Better, This' man, as in ch. xxvii. 47.

f render, Henceforth.

in which both Annas and Caiaphas lived.
This is evident from a comparison of the
narratives of Peter's denial : see below.'
The circumstance of a fire being lighted
and the servants sitting round it, men-
tioned bj the other three Evangelists, is
here omitted. 69. falsa witness]

" As they thought, evidence, but in reality,
false witness," Euthymius. But is this
quite implied P Is it not the intention of
the Evangelist to represent that they
sought false witness, not that they would
not take true if they could get it, but that
they knew it was not to be had ?
This hearing 1b altogether omitted in
Luke, and only the indignities following
related, w. 63 -66. 60.] found they

none, i. e. sufficient for the purpose, or
perhaps, consistent with itself. See note
on Mark ver. 66. 61. j See ch. xxvii.

40: the false witness consisted in giving
that sense to His words, which it appears
by ch. xxvii. 68 they knew they did not
bear. There is perhaps a trace, in the
different reports of Matt, and Mark, of the
discrepancy between the witnesses. There
is considerable difference between the words
attributed to Him here, and there.
The instance likewise of his zeal for the
honour of the temple, which had so lately
occurred might tend to perplex the evi-
dence produced to the contrary. 62.]
Better rendered, Dost thou not answer
what it is which these testify against
thee 1 L e. wilt thou give no explanation

of the words alleged to have been used by
thee? Our Lord was silent; for in an-
swering He mnSt have opened to them the
meaning of these his words, which was not
the work of this' His hour, nor fitting for
thai audience. " 63.] See Levit. v. 1.
I adjure thee, ' I put thee under an
oath,' the form of w*hich follows. The junc-
tion* of the Son of God with the Christ must
not be pressed beyond the meaning which
Caiaphas probably assigned to it — viz. the
title given to the 'Messiah from the pur-
port of the prophecies respecting Him.
It is however a very different thing when
our Lord by His answer affirms this, and
invests the words with their fullest mean-
ing and dignity. 64.] By Thou hast
said, more may perhaps be implied than by
St. Mark's " lam :*' that is a simple asser-
tion : this may refer to the convictions
and admissions of Caiaphas (see John xi.
49). But this is somewhat doubtful. The
expression is only used here and in ver. 26 :
and there does not appear to be any refer-
ence in it, as said to Judas, to any previous
admission of his. nevertheless — i. e.
'there shall be a sign of the truth of what
I say, over and above this confession of
Mine.9 Henceforth— the glorification
of Christ is by Himself said to begin with
his betrayal, see John xiii. 31 : from this
time— from the accomplishment of this
trial now proceeding. In what follows,
the whole process of the triumph of the
Lord Jesus even till its end is contained.

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198 ST. MATTHEW. XXVI.

nAi'tJxViLM. <$** shall ye see the Son of man * sitting on the right
hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

oynngrrtii. 65 ©Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath
spoken blasphemy ; what further need have we of wit-
nesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

pLev.»iT.i«. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, 'He is

qiu.1.6, mi. guilty of death. 67 q Then did they spit in his face, and
*■ buffeted him ; and others smote him [* with the palms of

their hands], 68 saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ,
Who is he that smote thee ?

69 Now Peter sat without in a the palace : and a damsel
came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of
Galilee. 70 gut he denied before them all, saying, I know
not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into
the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that
were there, This \}jfellow] was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
7^ And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the
man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood
by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them ;
for thy speech k bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to
curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And
immediately the cock crew. 76 And Peter remembered

rTer.M. the word of Jesus, which said punto him], 'Before the

& not necessarily implied in the word ; see note.

b render, the hall.

4 better, This man : see on ver. 61.

k literally, maketh thee manifest.

1 omitted by many ancient authorities.

The stall ye Me is to the council, the re- Luke xxii. 66 —71. 67.] Luke gives
presentatives of the chosen people, so soon these indignities, and in the same place as
to be judged by Him to whom all judg- here, adding, what indeed might have been
ment is committed — the power in contrast suspected that it was not the members of
to his present weakness— sitting— even as the Sanhedrim, but the men who held
they now sat to judge Him; and the Jesus in custody, who inflicted them on
coming in the clouds of heaven (see Dan. Him. The word rendered buffeted
vii. 87) looks onward to the awful time of means to strike with the fist. The
the end, when every eye shall see Him. following verb (smote him) is, generally,
65.] In Levit. xxi. 10 (see also to strike a fiat blow with the back of the
Levit. x. 6) the High Priest is ordered hand — but also, and probably here, since
not to rend his clothes ; but that appears another set of persons are described as do-
to apply only to mourning for the dead, ing it, to strike with a staff.
In 1 Mace xi. 71, and in Josephus, B. J. 69—75.] Our Lord is thrice de-
ii. 15. 4, we have instances of High Priests kied bt Peter. Mark xiv. 66—72.
rending their clothes. On rending the Luke xxii. 66—62. John xviii. 17, 18,
clothes at hearing blasphemy, see 2 Kings 25—27. This narrative furnishes one of
xviii. 37. 66.] This was not a formal the clearest instances of the entire inde-
condemnation, but only a previous vote or pendency of the four Gospels of one an-
expression of opinion. That took place in other. In it, they all differ ; and, sup-
the morning, see ch. xxvii. 1, and especially posing the denial to have taken place

Digitized by VjOOQIC

65-75. ST. MATTHEW. 199

cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out,

thrice, and only thrice, cannot be literally serve to shew what the agreements are,
harmonized. The following table may and what the differences : —

MATTHEW.

MABK.

LUKE.

JOHN.

1st
denial.

Sitting in tlie
hall without, is
charged by a maid
servant with hav-
ing been with Jesus
the Galihean. 'I
know notwhatthou
sayest.'

Warming him-
self in the hall be.
low, — &c. as Matt.
— goes out into
the vestibule —
cock crows. ' I
know not, neither
understand what
thou sayest.'

Sitting by the
fire is recognized
by the maid and
charged — replies,
'Woman, I know
Him not.'

Is recognized by
the porteress on
being introduced
by the other dis-
ciple. ' Art not
thou also one of
this man's disci-
ples?' He saith,
' I am not.'

2nd
denial.

He has gone out
into the porch—
another maid sees
him. 'This man
also was with Jesus
of Naz.' He de-
nies with an oath,
' I do not know the
man.'

The same maid
(possibly: but see
note, next page, col.
1, line 26) sees him
again, and says,
' This man is of
them.' He denies
again.

Another fl>ut a
male servant) says,
'Thou also art of
them/ Peter said,
' Man, I am not.'

Is standing and
warming himself.
They said to him,
'Art not thou also
of His disciples P '
He denied, and
said, ' I am not.'

3rd
denial.

After a little
while, the stand-
ers-bysay, 'Surely
thou art of them ;
for thy dialect be-
trayeth thee.' He
began to curse and
toswear: 'I know
not the man.'

As Matt.

' Surely thou art
of them : for thou
art also a Oali-
hean.'

After about an
hour, another per-
sisted saying, ' Tru-
ly this man was
with Him, for he
is a Galilsean.'
Peter said, 'Man,
I know not what
thou sayest.'

One of the slaves
of the High-priest,
his kinsman whose
ear Peter cut off,
says, ' Did I not
see thee in the gar-
den with Him?'
Peter then denied
again.

Immediately the
cock crew, and
Peter remembered,
&c — and going out
he wept bitterly.

A second time
the cock crew, and
Peter remembered,
Ac. — and when he
thought thereon he
wept.

Immediately while
he was yet speaking
the cock crew, and
the Lord turned
and looked on
Peter, and Peter
remembered, &c» —
and going out he
wept bitterly.

Immediately the
cock crew.

On this table I would mako the follow-
ing remarks: — that generally,— (1) sup-
posing the four accounts to be entirely
independent of one another, — we are not
bound to require accordance, nor would
there in all probability be any such ac-
cordance, in the recognitions of Peter by
different persons. These may have been
many on each occasion of denial, and in-
dependent narrators may have fixed on
different ones among them. (2) No reader,
who is not slavishly bound to the inspira-
tion of the letter, will require that the
actual words spoken by Peter should in
each case be identically reported. See

the admirable remarks of Augustine, cited
on ch. viii. 25 : and remember, that the
substantive fact of a denial remains the
same, whether I know not what thou say-
est, I know him not, or I am not, are
reported to have been Peter's answer. (3)
I do not see that we are obliged to limit
the narrative to three sentences from
Peter's mouth, each expressing a denial,
and no more. On three occasions during
the night he was recognized,— on three
occasions he was a denier of his Lord :
such a statement may well embrace re-
iterated expressions of recognition, and
reiterated and importunate denials, on

Digitized by VjOOQIC

200

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

and wept bitterly. XXVII. l When the morning was

each occasion. And these remarks being
taken into account, I premise that all diffi-
culty is removed from the synopsis above
given : the only resulting inferences being,

(a) that the narratives are genuine truthful
accounts of facts underlying them all : and

(b) that they are, and must be, absolutely
and entirely independent of one another.

For (1) tbe four accounts of the tirst
denial are remarkably coincident. In all
four, Peter was in the outer hall, where
the fire was made (see on ver. 69) : a maid
servant (Mt. Mk. lt.),—the maid servant
who kept the door (John) taxed him (in
differing words in each, the comparison
of which is very instructive) with being a
disciple of Jesus : in all four he denies,
again in differing words. I should bo dis-
posed to think this first recognition to
have been but one, and the variations to
be owing to the independence of the re-
ports. (2) In the narratives of the second
denial of oqr first preliminary remark is well
exemplified. The same maid (Mk. possi-
bly : but not necessarily— perhaps, only the
maiden in the vestibule or porch)— another
maid (Mt.), another (male) servant (Luke),
the standers-by generally (John), charged
him : again, in differing words. It seems
he had retreated from the fire as if going
to depart altogether (see note, ver. 69),
and so attracted the attention both of the
group at the fire and of the porteress. It
would appear to me that for some reason,
John was not so precisely informed of
the details of this. as of the other denials.
The "going out" (Mt. Mk.) is a super-
added detail, of which the " standing and
warming himself" (John) does not seem
to be possessed. (8) On the thibd occa-
sion, the standers-by recognize him as a
Galilctan (simply, Mk. [txt.], Lake: by
his dialect, Mt., an interesting additional
particular),— and a kinsman of Malchus
crowns the charge by identifying him in a
way which might have proved most peril-
ous, had not Peter immediately with-
drawn. This third time again, his denials
ore differently reported :— but here, which
is most interesting, we have in Matt.'s and
Mark's " he began to curse and to swear " a
very plain intimation, that he spoke not
one sentence only, but a succession of
vehement denials.

It will he seen, that for fair comment on
the fourfold testimony, we must not com-
mit the mistake of requiring the recogni-
tions, and the recognizers, in each case,
to have been identical in the four. Had
thoy been thus identical, in a case of this
kind, the four accounts must have sprung
from a common source, or have been

corrected to one another: whereas their
present varieties and coincidences are
most valuable as indications of truthful
independence. What I wish to impress
on the minds of my readers is, that in nar-
ratives which have sprung from such truth-
ful independent accounts, they must be
prepared sometimes (as e. g. in the details
of the day of the Resurrection) for discre-
pancies which, at our distance, we cannot
satisfactorily arrange : now and then we
may, as in this instance,' be able to do
so with something like verisimilitude : — in
some cases, not at all. But whether we
can thus arrange them or not, being tho-
roughly persuaded of the holy truthfulness
of the Evangelists, and of the divine guid-
ance under which they wrote, our faith is
in no way shaken by such discrepancies.
We value them rather, as testimonies to
independence : and are sure, that if for one
moment we could be put in complete pos-
session of all the details as they happened,
each account would find its justification,
and the reasons of all the variations would
appear. And this I firmly believe will one
day be the cose. (See the narrative of
Peter's denials ably treated in an article in
the " Christian Observer" for Feb. 1853.)
69.1 " An oriental house is usually
built round a quadrangular interior court ;
into which there is a passage (sometimes
arched) through the front part of the house,
closed next the street by a heavy folding
gate, with a small wicket for single persons,
kept by a porter. In the text, the interior
court, often paved or nagged, and open to
the sky, is the * hall,' where the attendants
made a fire ; and the passage beneath the
front of the house from the street to
this court, is the pro-aulion ('porch,'
Mark xiv. 68), or pylon ('porch,' ver.
71). The place where Jesus stood be-
fore the High Priest may have been an
open room or place of audience on the
ground floor, in the rear or on one side of
the court ; such rooms open in front, being
customary." Robinson. 70.] I know

not what thou sayest is an indirect form of
denial, conveying in it absolute ignorance
of the circumstances alluded to.
73.] thy speech— Wetstein gives many
examples of various provincial dialects of
Hebrew. The Galiheans could not pro-
nounce properly the gutturals, and they
used "t" for "s." 75.] out— viz.

from the] porch where the second
and third denial had taken place: the
motive being, as Chrysostom gives it,
" that he might not be convicted by his
tears."
Chap. XXVII. 1, 2.] Jesus is mid

Digitized by VjOOQIC

1—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

aoi

.xx. 19.
Acta lit. IS.

come, aall the chief priests and elders of the people tookaP»ut
counsel against Jesns to put him to death : 2 and when
they had bound him, they led him away, and b delivered bAc
him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3 c Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw e j-nrm,
that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought
again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and
elders, 4 saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed
p* the] innocent blood. And they said, What is that to
us ? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of
silver in the temple, dand departed, and went and hanged dJft£JJ5Jj;
himself. 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, u 18,
and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the n trea-
sury, because it is the price of blood. ? And they took
counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury
strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, • The field •Art«!W-
of blood, unto this day. 9 Then was fulfilled that which

m omit.

better, the sacred treasury (Corbanan, see Mark vii. 11).

away to Pilate. Mark ziv. 1. Luke
xxii. 66 (who probably combines with this
morning meeting of the Sanhedrim some
things that took place at their early assem-
bly), xxiii. 1. John xviii. 28. The object
of this taking counsel, was so as (so lite-
rally) to put him to death,— i. e. to con-
demn Him formally to death, and devise
the beet means for the accomplishment of
the sentence. ' 2.1 Pontius Pilate the
governor, see note on Luke iii. 1 ;— and on
the reason of their taking Him to Pilate,
on John xviii. 31. Pilate ordinarily re-
sided at Csesarea; but during the feast, in
Jerusalem.

3— 10.] Rbmoesb and suicide op
Judas. Peculiar to Matthew. This inci-
dent does not throw much light on the
motives of Judas. One thing we learn for
certain — that our Lord's being condemned,
which he inferred from His being handed
over to the Roman governor, worked in
him remorse, and that suicide was the con-
sequence. Whether this condemnation was
expected by him or not, does not here
appear ; nor have we any means of ascer-
taining, except from the former Sayings of
our Lord respecting him. 1 cannot (see
note on ch. xxvi. 14) believe that his in-
tent was other than sordid gain, to be
achieved by the darkest treachery. To
suppose that the condemnation took him
by surprise, seems to me to be incon-
sistent with the spirit of his' own confes-
sion, ver. 4. There I have betrayed the
innocent blood expresses his act—his ac-

complished purpose. The bitter feeling in
him now is expressed by I have sinned, of
which he is vividly and dreadfully conscious,
now that the result has been attained.
Observe it was the thirty pieces of silver
which he brought back — clearly the price
of the Lord's betrayal,— not earnest-money
merely; — for by this time, nay when he
delivered his Prisoner at the house of
Annas, he would have in that case received
the rest. 5.] in the temple— i. e. in

the holy place, where the priests only
might enter. We must conceive him as
speaking to them without, and throwing
the money into the temple. hanged (or
strangled) himself] On the account given
Acts i. 18, see note on that place. Another
account of the end of Judas was current,
which I have cited there. 6.] They

said this probably by analogy from Deut.
xxiii. 18. the price (given for shed-

ding) of blood ; the wages of a murderer.
7. the potter's field] the field of some well-
known potter— purchased at so small a
price probably from having been rendered
useless for tillage by excavations for clay :
see note on Acts i. 19. strangers]

not Gentiles, but stranger Jews who came
up to the feasts. 8.] The field of blood
— Aceldama. See Acts i. 19. unto

this day] This expression shews that a con-
siderable time had elapsed since the event,
before St. Matthew's Gospel was published.
9.] The citation is not from Jere-
miah (see ref.), and is probably quoted
from memory and unprecisely; we have

Digitized by UOO

gle

2oa

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

fzjc«.xi.M, was gpoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, f And they
took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was
0 valued, whom they of the children of Israel did ° value j
10 and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord
P appointed me.

11 And Jesus stood before bhe governor : and the go-
vernor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews ?
v iTim.Ti.u. And Jesus said unto him, * Thou say est. u And when
hch.xxvi.8s. he was accused of the chief priests and elders, hhe an-
oh.xxYi.M. swered nothing. 13 Then said Pilate unto him, l Hearest
thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word ; insomuch that
the governor marvelled greatly. 16 Now <l at that feast the
governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner,
whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable
prisoner, called Barabbas. ^ Therefore when they were

0 render in both cases, set a price on.
P render, commanded, for perspicuity.
<L render, at the feast-time.

similar instances in two places in -the
apology of Stephen, Acts vii. 4, 16,— and
in Mark ii. 26. Various means of evading
this have been resorted to, which are not
worth recounting. Jer. xviii. 1, 2, or per-
haps Jer. xxxii. 6 — 12, may have given
rise to it : or it may have arisen from a
Jewish idea [see Wordsworth here], " that
Zechariah had the spirit of Jeremiah."
The quotation here is very different from
the Septuagint, — and not much more like
the Hebrew. I put it to any faithful
Christian to say, whether of the two pre-
sents the greater obstacle to his faith, the
solution given above, or that given by a
commentator of our own day, that the
name of one prophet is here substituted for
that of another, to teach us not to regard
the prophets as the authors of their pro-
phecies, but to trace them to divine Inspi-
ration.

11^-14,] He IS EXAMINED BY PlLATE.

Mark xv. 2 — 5. Luke xxiii. 2—5. John
xviii. 29—38. Our narrative of the hearing
before Pilate is the least circumstantial of
the four— having however two remarkable
additional particulars, vv. 19 and 24.
John is the fullest in giving the words of
our Lord. Compare the notes there.
11.] Before this Pilate had come
out and demanded the cause of his being
delivered up; the Jews not entering the
PrsBtorium. The primary accusation

against Him seems to have been that He

said that He was Christ a King. This is
presupposed in the enquiry of this verse.
Thou gayest is not to be rendered
as a doubtful answer — much less with
Theophylact, as meaning, * Thou safest U9
not I:9 but as a strong affirmative. See
above on ch. xxvi. 64. 12—14.] This

part of the narrative occurs only in Mark
besides, but is explained by Luke ver 5.
The charges were, of exciting the people
from Galilee to Jerusalem. On the men-
tion of Galilee, Pilate sent Sim to Herod*
Luke, w. 6—12.

16—86.] Barabbas pbefebbkd to
Him. He is. delivered to be cbitct-
eied. Mark xv. 6 — 15. Luke xxiii. 17—25.
John xviii. 39, 40. In the substance of this
account the Four are in remarkable agree-
ment. St. John gives merely a compen-
dium, uniting in one these three attempts
of Pilate to liberate Jesus, and omitting any
definite statement of the fact of Barabbas
being liberated, and Jesus delivered to
them. 15. at that feast] literally,

feast by feast; i.e. at every feast. The
name Bar-abbas, ' son of his father,' was
not an uncommon one. It does not appear
why this man was notable. The mur-
derers in the insurrection in which he
was involved were many (Mark ver. 7).
17.] In St. John's narrative, the sug-
gestion of liberating Barabbas seems to
come from the Jews themselves ; but not
necessarily so : he may only be giving, as

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

10—26. ST. MATTHEW. 203

gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye
that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is
called Christ ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had
delivered him. 19 When he was set down on the judgment
seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to
do with that just man : for I have suffered many things
this day in a dream because of him- 2° kBut the chief kAjrt,Ui*1*-
priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should
ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor an-
swered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye
that I release unto you ? They said, Barabbas. 2* Pilate
% saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is
called Christ? They all say, [Tunto hiiti\> Let him be
crucified. ^ And the governor said, Why, what evil hath
he done ? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him
be crucified. ** When Pilate saw that he could prevail
nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he 1took1Deut*xxi**
water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying,
I am innocent of the blood of this [■ just] person : see ye mneutxix.
to it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, m His !•. %&!X
blood [* be] on us, and on our children. 26 Then released Jf;£ Acta

r omit. • omitted by several ancient authorities.

* not expressed in the original : it may be, [is] .

before, a general report of what passed, more of this woman than is here related.

The when they were gathered together Tradition gives her the name of Procla, or

seems to imply that a great crowd had Claudia Procula. In the apocryphal gospel

collected outside the Prartorium while the of Nicodemus, c. 2, we read that Pilate called

trial was going on. It is • possible the Jews and said to them, " Ye know how

that the addition, whioh is called Christ, that my wife is a worshipper of God, and

which Pilate could hardly have heard is rather of your religion than mine.

from the Jews, may have been familiar to They say unto him, Yea, we know it."
him by his wife's mention of Jesus. See that just mas, is a term which

below. 18.] The whole narrative shews that she knew the character for

presupposes what this verse and the next purity and sanctity which Jesus had. In the

distinctly assert, that Pilate was before gospel of Nicodemus, the Jews are made to

acquainted with the acts and character of reply, "Did we not tell thee that he is a

Jesus. 19.] The judgment seat was magician 1 behold, he hath sent a dream-

in a place called in Hebrew Gabbatha, tbe token to thy wife'* 20.] So St. Mark

Pavement — John xix. 13, where however Pi- also. St. Luke and St. John merely give,

late is not related to have gone thither, till that they all cried out, &c. The exciting

after the scourging and mocking of the sol- of the crowd seems to have taken place

diers. But he may have sat there when he while Pilate was receiving the message

came out in some of his previous interviews from his wife. 21.] answered, not

with the Jews. his wife] It had become necessarily to the incitements of the San-

the custom in Augustus's time for tbe gover- hedrists which he overheard, but rather to

nors of Provinces to take their wives with the state of confusion and indecision which

them abroad ; under Tiberius, Ciecina at- prevailed. 22.] They chose cruci-

tempted to pass a law forbidding it, but fixion as the ordinary Roman punishment

was vehemently opposed (by Drusus among for sedition, and because of their hate to

others) and put down. We know nothing Jesus. 24.] The washing of the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

204,

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

> Pa. lxix. 19.
Iu. llli. 8.

p Iu. 1. «.
ch.xxvi.07.

qlsa.

Ull. 7.

Nam. zt. 86,
Sft. I Kin*,
xxi. IS. AeU
▼11.68. H«b.
xlii.ll.

he Barabbas unto them : and when he had scourged Jesus,
he delivered him to be crucified.

s? n Then the soldiers %of the governor took Jesus into
the n common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band
of soldiers. ** And they stripped him, and put on him a
scarlet robe. 39 ° And when- they had platted a crown of
thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right
hand : and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked
him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. 3° And * they spit
upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
81 And after that they had mocked him, they took the
robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, « and
led him away to crucify him. S2 r And as they came out,

11 literally, the praetorium.

hands, to betoken innocence from blood-
guiltiness, is prescribed Deut xxi. 6 — 9,
and Pilate uses it here as intelligible to
the Jews. 25.] blood here has been

supposed to mean the punishment of blood :
but more probably there is a much wider
reference — as the adherence of blood to
the hands of a murderer is an idea not
bearing any necessary reference to punish-
ment, only to guilt. 26.] The
custom of scourging before execution was
general among the Romans. After the
scourging, John xix. 1 — 16, Pilate made a
last attempt to liberate Jesus — which
answers to "J will chastise him and let
him go," Luke, ver. 16. delivered
him — to the Roman soldiers, whose office
the execution would be.

27 — 30/] JB8US MOCKED BY THB SOL-

dikes. Mark xv. 16—19 (omitted in
Luke). John xix. 1 — 3. The assertion
" delivered him to be crucified " in ver. 26
is not strictly in its place there. Before
that, the contents of this passage come in,
and the last attempt of Pilate to liberate
Him. 27. the common hall] literally,

the pratorium. The residence of the Ro-
man governor was the former palace of
Herod, in the upper city. the whole

hand] The hand is the eohort— the tenth
part of a legion. The term the whole is
of course not to be pressed. unto him

— to make sport with Him. This happened
in the guard-room of the cohort : and the
narrative of it we may well believe may
have come from the centurion or others
(see ver. 54), who were afterwards deeply
impressed at the crucifixion. 28.]

Possibly the mantle in which He had been
sent back from Herod — see note on Luke,
ver. 11 ; or perhaps one of the ordinary

soldiers' cloaks. 29.] It does not ap-

pear whether the purpose of the crown was
to wound, or simply for mockery — and
equally uncertain is it, of what kind of
thorns it was composed. The acanthus,
with its large succulent leaves, is singularly
unfit for such a purpose: as is the plant
with very long sharp thorns commonly
known as spina Christi, being a brittle
acacia (robinia), — and the very length of
the thorns, which would meet in the
middle if it were bent into a wreath, pre-
cluding it. Some flexile shrub or plant
must be understood — possibly some variety
of the cactus or prickly pear. 'Hassel-
quist, a Swedish naturalist, supposes a
very common plant, naba or nubka of
the Arabs, with many small and sharp
spines; soft, round, and pliant branches;
leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep
green, as if in designed mockery of a vic-
tor's wreath.' Travels, 288. 1766 (cited by
P. M.). a read— for a sceptre.

80.1 Here follows the exhibition of Jesus
by Pilate, and his last attempt to release
him, John xix. 4 — 16.

31 — 84.] Hb is lbd to cbttctftxiof.
Mark xv. 20—23. Luke xxiii. 26—33.
John xix. 16, 17. The four accounts are
still essentially and remarkably distinct.
St. Matthew's and St. Mark's Are from the
same source, but varied in expression, and
in detail ; St. Luke's and St. John's stand
each alone ; St. Luke's being the fullest, and
giving us the deeply interesting address to
the daughters of Jerusalem. 81.] Pecu-
liar to Matt, and Mark. led him
away] or out, as in Mark. Executions
usually took place without the camp, see
Num. xv. 35, or city, 1 Kings xxi. 13,
Acts vii. 68, Hcb. xiii. 11—18. Orotius

Digitized by VjOOQIC

27—37.

ST. MATTHEW.

205

they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name : him they
▼ compelled to bear his cross. 83 And when they were
come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place
of a skull, 3* "they gave him vinegar to drink mingled 8 Si^Jt
with gall : and when he had tasted thereof, he would not
drink. 86 And they crucified him, and parted his gar-
ments, casting lots [l w that it might be fulfilled which was tPs.xxii.ia.
spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them,
and upon my vesture did they cast lots'] . S6 And sitting
down they watched him there ; 3? and set up over his
v the word is the same as in Matt. v. 41 : see note there. w omit.

brings examples to shew that the same was
the custom of the Romans. 32.]

Previously, Jesus had borne his own cross :
John, ver. 17. We have no data to ascer-
tain any further particulars about this
Simon of Cyrene. The only assumption
which we are perhaps justified in making,
is that he was afterwards known in the
Church as a convert : see note on Mark,
ver. 21. He was coming from the coun-
try, Mark, ibid.; Luke, ver. 26. Meyer
suggests, to account for the selection of
one out of the multitude present, that pos-
sibly he was a slave ; the indignity of the
service to be rendered preventing their
taking any other person. 88.] Gol-

gotha, a skull: the name is by Jerome,
and generally, explained from its being
the usual place of executions, and abound-
ing with skulls— not however unburied,
which was not allowed. This last con-
sideration raises an objection to the ex-
planation,— and as the name does not
import a place of skulls, but a place of a
skull or simply a skull (Luke), many
understand it as applying to the shape
of the hill or rock. But neither does this
seem satisfactory, as we have no analogy
to guide us, and no such hill or rock is
known to have existed. As regards

the situation, we await some evidence
which may decide between the conflicting
claims of the commonly-received site of
Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre, and that
upheld by Mr. Ferguson, who holds that
the Dome of the fiock, usually known as
the Mosque of Omar, is in reality the spot
of our Lord's entombment. See his Arti-
cle "Jerusalem" in Dr. Smith's Biblical
Dictionary: and on the other side, Wil-
liams's Holy City, and Stanley's Sinai and
Palestine, edn. 3, p. 459 ff. 34.] It

was customary to give a stupefying drink
to criminals on their way to execution:
of which our Lord would not partake,
having shewn by tasting it, that he was

aware of its purpose. In St. Mark's

account it is " wine mingled with myrrh "
— and though wine and vinegar might mean
the same thing, myrrh and gall cannot.
We may observe here (and if the remark
be applied with caution and reverence, it
is a most useful one), how St. Matt, often
adopts in his narrative the very words of
prophecy, where one or more of the other
Evangelists give the matter of fact detail ;
see above on ch. xxvi. 15, and compare
with this verse, Ps. Ixix. 21.

35 — 38J He is obucipied. Mark xv.
24—28. Lukexxiii.32-34,38. John xix.
18—24. The four accounts are distinct
from one another, and independent of any
one source in common. 85. they

erudfled Mm] The cross was an upright
pale or beam, intersected by a transverse
one at right angles, generally in the
shape of a T". In this case, from the 'title*
being placed over the Mead, the upright
beam probably projected above the hori-
zontal one, as usually represented +
To this cross, the criminal, being stripped
of his clothes, was fixed by nails driven
through the hands and (not always, nor
perhaps generally, though certainly not
seldom - see note at Luke xxiv. 39) through
the feet, separate or united. The body
was not supported by the nails, but by a
piece of wood which passed between the
legs. On the rest of the verse, see notes
on John. The words omitted in the text
as not found in any of the ancient
manuscripts^ are clearly interpolated from
John, ver. 24, with just the phrase which
was spoken by the prophet assimilated
to St. Matthew's usual form of citation.

36.] watched him— this was usual,
to. prevent the friends taking crucified
persons down. There were four soldiers,
John, ver. 23; a centurion and three others.

87.] St. Matthew finishes relating
what the soldiers did, and then goes back
to the course of the narrative. The ' title'

Digitized by VjOOQIC

206

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

wP*.xxM.7i

clx.26.
xch.xxrl.6l,

John U. 10.

head his accusation written, This is Jesus the King of the
Jews. 88 T Then were there two thieves crucified with
him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And w they that passed by reviled him, wagging their
heads, *° and saying, x Thou that destroyest the temple,

ych. xxti.«8. and buildest it in three days, save thyself. *If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 Likewise
also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and
elders, said> ** He saved others; himself he cannot save.
* If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from

■ PI.XX1L8. the cross, and we will believe him. ^ * He trusted in
God ; let him deliver him now, if he will have him : for
he said, I am the Son of God. ** 7 The thieves also, which

aAm«Yiii.«. were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. ^ a Now
from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the ■ land

x most ancient copies read, He is King of Israel.

7 render, In like manner did the thieves also revile him, which
were crucified with him.

1 render, earth.

appears to have been written by Pilate
(see John, ver. 19) and sent to be affixed
on the cross. It is not known whether
the affixing of this title was customary.
In Dio Oassius and others, we read of such
a title being hung round the neck of a
criminal on his way to execution. On the
difference in the four Gospels as to the
words of the inscription itself, it is hardly
worth while to comment, except to re-
mark, that the advocates for the verbal
and literal exactness of each gospel may
here find an undoubted example of the
absurdity of their view, which may serve
to guide them in less plain and obvious
cases. (See this further noticed in the
Introduction.) A title was written, con-
taining certain words ; not four titles, all
different, but one, differing probably from
all of these four, but certainly from three
of them. Let us bear this in mind, when
the narratives of words spoken, or events,
differ in a similar manner. Respecting
the title, see further on John, vv. 20 — 22.
88.] Then, 1. e. after the crucifixion
of Jesus was accomplished. These thieves
were led out with Jesus, and crucified,
perhaps by the same soldiers, or perhaps,
from ver. 86, by another band.

89—44.] He is mocked on thb cross.
Mark xv. 29—32. Luke xxiii. 85—37,
39 — 48. Our narrative and that of St. Mark
are from a common source. St. Luke's is
wholly distinct. The whole of these in-

dignities are omitted by St. John.
39. they that passed by] These words
say nothing as to its being a working-day,
or as to the situation of the spot. A
matter of so much public interest would
be sure to attract a crowd, among whom
we find, ver. 41, the chief priests, scribes,
and elders. These passers-by were the
multitude going in and out of the city,
some coming to see, others returning,
wagging their heads] see Ps. xxii. 7. The
first reproach refers to ch. xxvi. 61; the
second to the same, ver. 64. 43.1

St. Luke gives, more exactly, the second
reproach iu this verse as \ proceeding from
the soldiers. 48.] This is omitted by

St. Mark and St. Luke. 44.] Neither

St. Matt, nor St. Mark is in possession of
the more particular account given by St.
Luke, vv. 39 — 43, where see notes. For
the other incident which happened at this
time, see John, vv. 25—27, and notes.

15—50.] supernatural darkness.
Last words, and death of Jesus.
Mark xv. 33—87. Luke xxiii. 44 — 46.
John xix. 28—30. The three accounts
are here and there very closely allied;
Matthew and Mark almost verbally. Luke
only, however, contains the words which
the Lord uttered before lie expired, —
omits the incident which takes up our
vv. 46 — 49, and inserts here the rending
of the veil. John is entirely distinct.
45.] According to Mark, ver. 25,

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. 38—48.

ST. MATTHEW.

207

unto the nintli hour. *• And about the ninth hour b Jesus *Heb.v.7.
a cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabach-
thani? that is to say, c My God, my God, why b hast thou c P«A- »"• »•
forsaken me ? *7 Some of them that stood there, when
they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. *& And
straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, *anddp,'llfaun-
filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him

a better, cried out, or even, "cried mightily," or "shouted forth:" it is the
same word as in Mark xv. 8 : Luke ix. 88 : m which two plaees only it occurs.
* literally, didst thou forsake me.

it was the third hour when they crucified
Him. If so, He had been on the cross
three hours, which in April would answer
to about the same space of time in our
day— i.e. from 9— 12 a.m. On the diffi-
culty presented by St. John's declaration
ch. xix. 14, see notes there and on Mark,
darkness — this was no eclipse of
the sun, for it was full moon at the time—
nor any partial obscuration of the sun
such as sometimes takes place before an
earthquake— for it is clear that no earth-
quake in the ordinary sense of the word
is here intended. Those whose belief leads
them to reflect WHO was then suffering,
will have no difficulty in accounting for
these signs of sympathy in Nature, nor in
seeing their applicability. The consent, in
the same words, of all three Evangelists,
must silence all question as to the universal
belief of this darkness as a fact ; and the
early Fathers appeal to the testimony of
profane authors for its truth. The omis-
sion of it in St. John's Qospel is of no
more weight than the numerous other in-
stances of such omission. See Amos viii.
9, 10. over all the earth] The

same word in the original is rendered
earth in Luke, but land here and in Mark.
This would seem to be pure caprice on the
part of our translators; and might mis-
lead. Whether these words are to be takon
in all their strictness is doubtful. Of course,
over the whole globe the darkness would not
be supernatural — as it would be night natu-
rally over half of it. The question is, are
we to understand that part of it over which
there was day ? I believe we are ; but
see no strong objection to any limitation,
provided the fact itself, as happening at
Jerusalem, is distinctly recognized. This
last is matter of testimony, and the three
Evangelists are pledged to its truth: the
present words hardly stand on the same
ground, not being matter of testimony
properly so called. 46.] See Ps. xxh.

1. The words are Chaldee, and not
Hebrew. Our Lord spoke them in the

ordinary dialect, not in that of the sacred
text itself. The weightiest question is,
In what sense did He use them? His
inner consciousness of union with God
must have been complete and indestruc-
tible—but, like His higher and holy will,
liable to be obscured by human weakness
and pain, which at this time was at its
very highest. We must however take
care not to ascribe all his suffering to
bodily paint however cruel : his soul was
in immediate contact with 'and prospect
of death—the wages of sin, which He had
taken on Him, but never committed— and
the conflict at Gethsemane was renewed.
• He himself,' as the Berlenberg Bible re-
marks (Stier), 'becomes the expositor of
the darkness, and shews what it imports.'
In the words however, ' My God ' — there
speaks the same union with the divine Will,
and abiding in the everlasting covenant pur-
pose, as in those, * Not my will, but thine.'
These are the only words on the Cross
related by St. Matt, and St. Mark — and they
are related by none besides. 47.] This

was not said by the Soman soldiers,
who could know nothing of Elias; nor
was it a misunderstanding of the Jewish
spectators, who must have well under-
stood the import of Eli, nor again was it
said in any apprehension, from the super-
natural darkness, that Elias might really
come; but it was replied in intended
mockery, as the contemptuous This man,
— 'this one among the three,' — clearly
indicates. This is one of the cases

where those who advocate an original
Hebrew Gospel of Matthew are obliged
to suppose that the Greek translator has
retained the original words, in order to
make the reason of the reply clear.
48.] This was on account of the words
' I thirst,' uttered by our Lord : see John,
ver. 28. St. Mark's account is somewhat
different : there the same person gives the
vinegar and utters the scoff which follows.
This is quite intelligible— contempt min-
gled with pity would doubtless find a type

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208

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

to drink. 4° The rest said, Let be, let us see whether

Elias will come to save him. 60 Jesus, when he had cried

again with a loud voice, yielded up ° the ghost. 61 And,

1 art aSn. behold. e the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the

ill 14 Heb

li'i9!© ff.*' *°P *° ^e bottom \ and the earth did quake, and the rocks

c render, his spirit.

among the bystanders. There is no need for
assuming that the soldiers offering vinegar
in Lake, ver. 37, is* the same incident as
this. Since then, the bodily state of the
Redeemer had greatly changed : and what
was then offered in 'mockery, might well
be now asked for in the agony of death,
and received when presented. I would
not however absolutely deny that St. Luke
may be giving a less precise detail;
and may represent this incident by his
ver. 37. The vinegar is the posca, sour
wine, or vinegar and water, the ordinary
drink of the Roman soldiers. On the other

Particulars, see notes on John. 49.]

f we take our account as the strictly
precise one, the rest— in mockery — call
upon this person to desist, and wait for
Elias to come and save Him : if that of
St. Mark, the giver of the drink calls upon
the rest (also in mockery) to let this
suffice, or to let him (the giver) alone,
and wait, &c. The former seems more
probable. 50.] It has been doubted

whether it if finished of John (ver. 80),
and Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit of Luke (ver. 46), are to be
identified with this crying out, or to be
taken as distinct from it. But a nearer
examination of the case will set the doubt
at rest. The " delivered up " of John (ib.)
implies the speech in Luke; which accord-
ingly was that uttered in this loud voice,
" It is finished " was said before ; see notes
on John.

51-66.] Signs following his death.
Mark xv. 38—41. Luke xxiii. 47—49. The
three narratives are essentially distinct.
That of St. Luke is more general— giving
only the sense of the centurion's words —
twice using the indefinite "all"— and
not specifying the women. The whole is
omitted by St. John. 51.] The behold

gives solemnity. This was the inner

veil, screening off the holy of holies from
the holy place, Exod. xxvi. 33 : Heb. ix.
2, 3. This circumstance has given rise to
much incredulous comment, and that even
from men like Schleiermacher. A right
and deep view of the O. T. symbolism
is required to furnish the key to it ; and
for this we look in vain among those who

set aside that symbolism entirely.
That was now accomplished, which was
the one and great antitype of all those
sacrifices offered in the holy place, in order
to gain, as on the great day of atonement
(for that day may be taken as the repre-
sentation of their intent), entrance into
the holiest place, — the typical presence of
God. What those sacrifices (ceremonially)
procured for the Jews (the type of God's
universal Church) through their High
Priest, was now (really) procured for all
men by the sacrifice of Him, who was
at once the victim and the High Priest.
When the objectors assert that no use
is made of this event in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, they surely cannot have
remembered, or not have deeply con-
sidered, Heb. x. 19 — 21. Besides, sup-
pose it had been referred to plainly and
by name — what would then have been
said? Clearly, that this mention was a
later insertion to justify that reference.
And almost this latter, Strauss, recog-
nizing the allusion in Heb., actually does.
Schleiermacher also asks, how could the
event he known, seeing none but priests
could have witnessed it, and they would
not be likely to betray it? To say no-
thing of the almost certain spread of the
rumour, has he forgotten that (Acts vi. 7)
"a great company of the priests were
obedient unto the faith ?" Neander, who
gives this last consideration its weight
(but only as a possibility, that some priests
may have become converts, and apparently
without reference to the above fact), has
an unworthy and shuffling note (L. J.
p. 757), ending by quoting two testi-
monies, one apocryphal, the other rabbi-
nical, from which he concludes that ' some
matter of fact lies at the foundation ' of
this (according to him) mythical adjunct.
the earth did quake— not an ordi-
nary earthquake, but connected with the
two next clauses, and finding in them its
explanation and justification. the

rocks rent] It would not be right alto-
gether to reject the testimonies of tra-
vellers to the fact of extraordinary rents
and fissures in the rocks near the spot.
Of course those who know no other proof

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49—56.

ST. MATTHEW.

209

rent; 52 and the graves were opened; fand many bodies n*- ***.&.
of the sainte which slept arose, 63 and d came out of the
graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city,
and appeared unto many. 54 * Now when the centurion, *wM-
and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the
earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared
greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. 65 And
many women were there beholding afar off, h which fol- *j«*»Yiu.«i
lowed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him : 56 among
which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James and Joses, and the mother of * Zebedee** children.

* render, they came out : the gender is masculine, whereas bodies is neuter.
e render, the sons of Zebedee.

rending of the veil, are not in the posses-
sion of St. Mark, of the minute accuracy
of whose account I have no doubt. Sis
report is that of one man — and that man,
more than probably, a convert. St. Mat-
thew's is of many, and represents their
general impression. St. Luke's is also
general. those things that wero

done points to the crying out, as indeed
does the "so" in Mark: — but see notes
there. was the Son of God— which

the Centurion had heard that He gave
Himself out for, John xix. 7, and our ver.
43. It cannot be doubtful, I think, that
he used these words in the Jewish sense —
and with some idea of that which they
implied. When Meyer says that he must
have used them in a heathen sense, mean-
ing a hero or demigod, we must first be
shewn that "Son of God" was ever so
used. I believe St. Luke's to be a different
report : see notes there. . 65, 56.]

Magdalene, from Magdala: see note on ch.
xv. 89. She is not to be confounded with
Mary who anointed our Lord, John xii. 1,
nor with the woman who did the same,
Luke vii. 36 : see Luke viii. 2. Mary

the mother of James . . . .] The wife of
Alphaus or Clopas, John xix. 25 : see note
on ch. xiii. 55. Mark adds " the less**

to distinguish him from the brother of our
Lord (probably not from the son of Zebedee).
* The mother of the sons of Zebedee
(i. e. of James and John: not " of Zebedee' s
children,*' as A. V. curiously renders it)]
Salome, Mark. Both omit Mary the
mother of Jesus : — but we must remember,
that if we are to take the group as
described at this moment, she was not
present, having been, as I believe (see note
on John, ver. 27), led away by the beloved
Apostle immediately on the speaking of
the words, < Behold thy mother.' And if
P

of the historical truth of the event, will
not be likely to take this as one ; but to us,
who are firmly convinced of it, every such
trace, provided it be soberly and honestly
ascertained, is full of interest. 52,

68.] The whole transaction was super-
natural and symbolic: no other inter-
pretation of it will satisfy even ordinary
common sense. Was the earthquake a
mere coincidence 1 This not even those
assert, who deny all symbolism in the
matter. Was it a mere sign of divine
wrath at what was done — a mere prodigy,
like those at the death of Cesar ? Surely
no Christian believer can think this. Then
what was it t What but the opening of
the tombs— the symbolic declaration, that
the Death which had happened had broken
the bands of death for ever? These fol-
lowing clauses, which have no mythical
nor apocryphal character, require only this
explanation to be fully understood. The
graves were opened at the moment of
the death of the Lord; but inasmuch as
He is the firstfruits from the dead —
the Resurrection and the Life — the bodies
of the saints in them did not arise till
He rose, and having appeared to many
after his resurrection, — possibly during
the forty days, — went up with Him into
His glory. Moses and Elias, who were
before in glory, were not from the dead,
properly speaking : see note on ch. xvii. 1.
arose is the result — not the imme-
diate accompaniment, of the opening of
the tombs. It is to prevent this being
supposed, that the qualification after his
resurrection is added. 54.] the earth-
quake and those things that were done is
represented by "that he so gave up the
ghost,'* Mark. Does the latter of these
look as if compiled from the former ? The
circumstances of our w. 51—58, except the
Vol. I.

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210

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII.

Hw.Utt.9.

fi7 When the even was come, there came a rich man of
Arimath&a, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus'
disciple : 68 he went to Pilate, and begged the body of
Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
69 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in
a clean linen cloth, *° and * laid it in his own new tomb,
which he had hewn out in the rock : and he rolled a great
stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. 61 And
there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting*

this view be objected to, yet she could not
be named here, nor in Mark, except sepa-
rately from these three — for she could
not have been well included among those
who ministered to Him. There must have
been also another group, of His disciples,
within sight; — e. g. Thomas, who said,
' Except 1 see in his hands the print of the
nails,' Ac., and generally those to whom He
afterwards shewed his hands and feet as a
proof of His identity.

67—61.] Joseph of Abimathaa begs,
Ain> busies the bodt or Jestts. Mark
xv. 42—47. Luke xxiii. 60—56. John xix.
98—42. The four accounts, agreeing in
substance, are remarkably distinet and in-
dependent, as will appear by a close com-
parison of them. 67.] Before sunset,
at which time the sabbath, and that an
high day, began : see Deut. xxi. 23. The
Roman custom was for the bodies to re-
main on the crosses till devoured by birds
of prey. On the other hand Josephus
snys that the Jews were so careful about
burying that they took down even
those who had been crucified, and buried
them before sunset. came] probably
to the Pratorium. Meyer supposes, to the
place of execution : which is also possible,
and seems supported by " came and took
down," John ver. 88, and "there came
also . . . ." ver. 89, which certainly was
to Oolgotha. a rich man — he was
also a counsellor, i. e. one of the Sanhe-
drim : see Mark, ver. 48 : Luke, ver. 51.

Arimathsea] Opinions are divided
as to whether this was Rama in Benjamin
(see ch. ii. 18), or Rama (Ramathaim) in
Ephraim, the birth-place of Samuel. The
form of the name is more like the latter.

68.] The repetition of the body
is remarkable, and indicates a common,
origin, in this verse, with Mark, who after
gave expresses the body, on account of
the expression of Pilate's surprise, and
the change of subject between.
69.] John (ver. 39) mentions th# arrival of
Nicodemus with an hundred pound weight
of myrrh and aloes, in which also the Body

was wrapped. The Three seem not to be
in possession of this— nor St. Matthew and
St. John of the subsequent design of the
women to embalm It. What wonder if,
at such a time, one party of disciples
should not have been aware of the doings
of another ? It is possible that the
women, who certainly knew what had
been done with the Body (see ver. 61),
may have intended to bestow on it more
elaborate care, as whatever was done this
night was hurried, — see John, w. 41, 42.
60.] St. Matthew alone relates that, it
was Joseph's own tomb. St. John, that it
was in a garden, and in the place where Hie
was crucified. All, except St. Mark, notice
the newness of the tomb. St. John does
not mention that it belonged to Joseph —
but the expression "in which was never man
get laid" looks as if he knew more than he
has thought it necessary to state*. His
reason for the Body being laid there is,
that it was near, and the Preparation
rendered haste necessary. But then we
may well ask, How should the body of an
executed person be laid in a new tomb,
without the consent of the owner being
first obtained ? And who so likely to
provide a tomb, as he whose pious care
for the Body was so eminent? All

that we can determine respecting the
sepulchre from the data here furnished is,
(1) That it was not a natural cave, but
an artificial excavation in the rock. (2)
That it was not cut downwards, after the
manner of a grave with us, but hori-
zontally, or nearly so, into the face of
the rock — this I conceive to be implied in
" rolled a great stone to the door," as also
by the use of " stooping down," John xx.
6, 11, and "went in," ib. 5, 6.
(8) That it was in the spot where the cru-
cifixion took place. Cyril of Jerusalem
speaks of " the tomb close by, where He was
laid, and the stone which was put on the
door, which to this day (about 880 a.d.)
lies by the tomb." 61.] St. Luke men-

tions more generally the women who came'
with Sim from Galilee; and specifies that

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57—65.

ST. MATTHEW.

211

over against the sepulchre. 62 Now the next day, that
followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and
Pharisees came together unto Pilate, *& saying, Sir, we
remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive,
k after three days I will rise again. 6* Command there- k j£i££;"i.
fore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, jdmu^iS1'
lest his disciples come \}by nighf], and steal him away,
and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead : so the
last error shall be worse than the first. 66 Pilate said unto
them, S Ye have a h watch : go your way, make p it] as

* omit. 8 or, Take : see note. tt render, guard. * omit.

rising from the dead woe to be; — and
that the fulfilment of the Lord's an-
nouncement of his crucifixion would na-
turally lead them to look further, to what
more he had announced (2) How should
the women, who were solicitous about the
removal of the stone, not have been still
more so about its being sealed, and a
guard set ? The answer to this has been
given above — they were not aware of the
circumstance, because the guard was not
set till the evening before. There would
be no need of the application before the
approach of the third day— it is only
made for a watch until the third day,
ver. 64 — and it is not probable that the
circumstance would transpire that night
—certainly it seems not to have done so.
(3) That Gamaliel was of the council, and
if such a thing as this, and its sequel ch.
xxviii. 11 — 15, had really happened, he
need not have expressed himself doubt-
fully, Acts v. 89, but would have been
certain that this was from God.
But, first* it does not necessarily follow
that every member of the Sanhedrim was
present and applied to Pilate, or even had
they done so, that all bore a part in
the act of ch. xxviii. 12. One who, like
Joseph, had not consented to their deed
before— and we may safely say that there
were others such — would naturally with-
draw himself from further proceedings
against the person of Jesus. On Gama-
liel and his character, see note on Acts,
as above. (4) Had this been so, the three
other Evangelists would not have passed
over so important a testimony to the Re-
surrection. But surely we cannot argue
in this way— for thus every important fact
narrated by one Evangelist alone must be
rejected — e. g. (which stands in much the
same relation) the satisfaction of Thomas,
— and other such narrations. Till we know
much more about the circumstances under
which, and the scope with which, each
2

they prepared spices and ointments, and
rested the sabbath day according to the
commandment.

62—66.] The Jewish attthobitibs
obtain from ptlatb a guard fob thb
8BPULOHEB. Peculiar to Matthew.
62. the next day] not on that night, but
on the next day. A difficulty has been
found in its being called the day after
the preparation, considering that it was
itself the sabbath, and the greatest sab"
bath in the year. But 1 believe the ex-
pression to be carefully and purposely
used. The chief priests, Ac. did not go
to Pilate on the sabbath,— but in the
evening, after the termination of the sab-
bath. Had the Evangelist said " which is
the sabbath," the incongruity would at
once appear of such an application being
made on the sabbath — and he therefore
designates the day as the first after that,
which, as the day of the Lord's death,
the preparation, was uppermost in his
mind. The narrative following has

been undeservedly impugned, and its his-
torical accuracy given up by even the
best of the German Commentators, and
by others. The chief difficulties found
in it seem to be: (1) How should the
chief priests, &c. know of Sis having said,
* in three days 1 will rise again/ when the
saying was hid even from His own dis-
ciples ? The answer to this is easy. The
meaning of the saying may have been,
and was, hid from the disciples; but the
fact of its having been said could be no
secret. Not to lav any stress on John
ii. 19, we have the direct prophecy of
Matt. xii. 40— and besides this, there
would be a rumour current, through the
intercourse of the Apostles with others,
that He had been in the habit of so saying.
As to the understanding of the words,
we must remember that hatred is keener
sighted than love; — that the raising of
Lazarus would shew, what sort of a thing

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212

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVII. 66.

sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre
i dm.ti. 17. sure, } sealing the stone, k and setting a tcatci.

XXVIII. l In the end of the sabbath, as it began to

dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Mag-

aob.xxvH.w. dalene * and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And,

behold, there was a great earthquake : for l the angel of

the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled

k render, besides [posting] the guard. 1 render, an angel.

Gospel was compiled, all a priori argu-
ments of this kind are good for nothing.
65.] Te have— the verb rendered
may be either 1), indicative, Te have: —
but then the question arises, What guard
had they P and if they had one, why go
to Pilate ? Perhaps we must understand
some detachment placed at their disposal
during the feast — but there does not seem
to be any record of such a practice. That
the guards were under the Sanhedrim is
plain from ch. xxviii. 11, where they make
their report, not to Pilate, but to the
chief priests : — or 2), imperative ; which
doubtless it may be; see 2 Tim. i. 13
and note; and the sense here on that
hypothesis would be, Take a body of
men for a guard. And to this latter
I rather incline : see the note in my
Greek Test. as ye can] literally

as you know how : — in the best manner
yon can. There is no irony in the words,
as has been supposed. The sealing was
by means of a cord or string passing
across the stone at the mouth of the
sepulchre, and fastened at either end to
the rock by sealing-clay.
Chap. XXVIII. 1—10.] Jesus, having

BIBEN FROM THE DEAD, APPEARS TO THE

women. Mark xvi. 1 — 8. Luke xxiv.
1—12. John xx. 1—10. The independ-
ence and distinctness of the four narra-
tives in this part have never been ques-
tioned, and indeed herein lie its principal
difficulties. With regard to them, I refer
to what I have said in the Introduction,
that supposing us to be acquainted with
every thing said and done in its order
and exactness, we should doubtless be
able to reconcile, or account for, the pre~
sent forms of the narratives; but not

dence, which now rests (speaking merely
objectively) on the unexceptionable testi-
mony of three independent narrators, and
of one, who besides was an eye-witness
of much that happened. If we aro to
compare the four, and ask which is to be
taken as most nearly reporting the exact
words and incidents, on this there can I
think be no doubt. On internal as well
as external ground, that of St. John takes
the highest place : but not, of course, to
the exclusion of those parts of the narra-
tive which he does not touch. The
improbability that the Evangelists had
seen one another's accounts, becomes, in
this part of their Gospels, an impossibility.
Here and there we discern traces of a
common narration as the ground of their
reports, as e. g. Matt. w. 5 — 8 : Mark vv.
5 — 8, but even these are very few.
As I have abandoned all idea of har-
monizing throughout, 1 will beg the stu-
dent to compare carefully the notes on
the other Gospels. 1. In the end of the
sabbath] There is some little difficulty
here, because the end of the sabbath (and
of the week) was at sunset the night be-
fore. It is hardly to be supposed that
St. Matthew means the evening of the
sabbath, though "dawn" is used of the
day beginning at sunset (Luke xxiii. 54,
and note). It is best to interpret a doubt-
ful expression in unison with the other
testimonies, and to suppose that here
both the day and the breaking of the day
are taken in their natural, not their Jewish
sense. Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary] In Mark, Salome also. St. John
speaks of Mary Magdalene alone. See
notes there. to see the sepulchre] It
was to anoint the Body, for which pur-

having this key to the harmonizing of poses they had bought, since the end of
them, all attempts to do so in minute par-
ticulars must be full of arbitrary assump-
tions, and carry no certainty with them.
And I may remark, that of all harmonies,
those of the incidents of these chapters
are to me the most unsatisfactory. Giving
their compilers all credit for the bjest in-
tentions, I confess they seem to me to
weaken instead of strengthening the evi-

the Sabbath, ointments and spices, Mark.
In Mark it is after the rising of the
sun; in John, while yet dark; in Luke,
at dim dawn; the two last agree with our
text. 2.] This must not be taken as

pluperfect, "there had been, fyc," which
would he altogether inconsistent with the
text. The words here must mean that
the women were witnesses of the earth-

^Digitized by VjOO1

XXVIII. 1—9.

ST. MATTHEW.

213

back the stone [m from the door], and sat upon it. 3 b His *dm».*.«-
a countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as
snow : * and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and
became as dead men. 6 And the angel answered and said
unto the women, Fear not 'ye: for I know that ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. 6 He is not here : for he is
risen, cas he said. Come, see the place where the Lord c xti^i's^Vh.
lay. 7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is M,xxW-
risen from the dead; and, behold, -d he goeth before you<*c*»v|"-
into Galilee*; there shall ye see him : lo, I have told you.

8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear
and great joy ; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9 And [° as they went to tell his disciples^ behold, Jesus

m omitted by many ancient authorities. n render, appearance.

0 omitted in most of the oldest and best authorities.

quake, and that which happened. It

was not properly an earthquake, but was
the sadden opening of the tomb by the
descending Angel, as the for shews. The
rolling away was not done naturally, but
by a shock. It must not J>e supposed

that the Resurrection of our Lord took
place at this time, as sometimes imagined,
and represented in paintings. It had
taken place before; — " He is risen, $c,"
are the words of the Angel. It was not
for Him, to whom (see John xx. 19 — 26)
the stone was no hindrance, but for the
women and His disciples, that it was
rolled away. 3.] His appearance;

not in shape (as some would explain it
awat), but in brightness. 5.] In

Mark, a young man in a white robe was
sitting in the tomb on the right hand :
in Luke, two men in shining raiment
(see Acts i. 10) appeared to them. St.
John relates, that Mary Magdalene looked
into the tomb and saw (but this must
have been afterwards) two angels in white
sitting one at the head, the other at the
feet where the Body had lain. All at-
tempts to deny the angelic appearances,
or ascribe them to later tradition, are dis-
honest and absurd. That related in John
is as definite as either of the others, and
he certainly had it from Mary Magdalene
herself. ye is emphatic, addressed

to the women. 6.] as he said is

further expanded in Luke, w. 6, 7. See
ch. xvi. 21 ; xvii. 28. the Lord

(only found this once in Matt, as an appel-
lation of Jesus) is emphatic ; — 'a glorious
appellation,' Bengel. 7.] This ap-

pearance in Galilee had been foretold
before his death, see ch. xxvi. 82. It
is to be observed that St. Matthew re-

cords only this one appearance to the
Apostles, and in Galilee. It appears
strange that this should be the entire
testimony of St. Matthew: for it seems
hardly likely that he would omit those
important appearances in Jerusalem when
the Apostles were assembled, John xx.
19, 26, or that one which was closed by
the Ascension. But perhaps it may be in
accord with his evident design of giving
the general form and summary of each
series of events, rather than their charac-
teristic details. See below on ver. 20.
The goeth before here is not to be
understood as implying the journeying on
the part of our Lord Himself. It is cited
from His own words, ch. xxvi. 82, and
there, as here, merely implies that He
would be there when they arrived. It has
a reference to the collecting of the flock
which had been scattered by the smiting
of the Shepherd ; see John x. 4.
there shall ye see him is determined, by
"there shall they see me," below, to be
part of the message to the disciples : not
spoken to the women directly, but cer-
tainly indirectly including them. The idea
of their being merely messengers to the
Apostles, without bearing any share in the
promise, is against the spirit of the con-
text : see further in note on ver. 17.
lo, I have told yon is to give solemnity to
the command. These words are peculiar
to Matthew, and are a mark of accuracy.
8.] " With fear, because of the prodi-
gies; with joy, for the promises " Euthym.
9.] Neither St. Mark nor St. Luke recounts,
or seems to have been aware of, this ap-
pearance. St. Mark even says " they said
nothing to any man :for they were afraid."
But (see above) it does not therefore follow

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214

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVIII.

met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held
him by the feet, and worshipped him. 10 Then said Jesus
• IXjl n.w unto them, Be not afraid : go tell e my brethren that they
go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the
P watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief
priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they
were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel,
they gave large money unto the soldiers, 18 saying, Say ye,
His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we
slept. 14 And if this * come to the governor** ears, we will
persuade him, and r secure you. 15 So they took the
money, and did as they were taught : and this saying is
commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into

P render, guard. 4 render, be heard before the governor.

r render, bear you harmless.

that the narratives are inconsistent. St.
Mark's account (see note there) is evidently
broken off suddenly ; and St. Luke's (see
also note there) appears to have been de-
rived from one of those who went to
Emmaus, who had evidently but an imper-
fect knowledge of what happened before
they left the city. This being taken into
account, we may fairly require that the
judgment should be suspended in lack of
further means of solving the difficulty.
held him by the feet, partly in fear
and as suppliants, for the Lord savs, "fear
not," — but shewing also the joy with which
that fear was mixed (ver. 8),— joy at having
recovered Him whom they loved. 10.J

my brethren ; so also to Mary Magdalene,
John zx. 17. The repetition of this

injunction by the Lord has been thought
to indicate that this is a portion of another
narrative inwoven here, and may possibly
belong to the same incident as that in ver.
7. But all probability is against this : the
passages are distinctly consecutive, and
moreover both are in the well-known 6tylo
of St. Matthew (e. g., " behold" in both).
There is perhaps more probability that this
may be the same appearance as that in
John xx. 11—18, on account of " touch me
not" there, and " my brethren" — but in
our present imperfect state of information,
this must remain a mere probability.

11 — 16.] The Jewish authorities
bribe the guards to give a false
account of the resurrection. Pecu-
liar to Matthew. This was a meeting
of the Sanhedrim, but surely hardly an
official and open one ; does not the form

of the narrative rather imply that it was
a secret compact between those (the ma-
jority) who were bitterly hostile to Jesus ?
The circumstance that Joseph had taken
no part in their counsel before, leads us to
think that others may have withdrawn
themselves from the meeting, e. g., Gama-
liel, who could hardly have consented to
such a measure as this. 14.] not, as

in A. V., 'come to the ears of the
governor,' but be borne witness of before
the governor, come before him officially :
i. e., ' if a stir be made, and you be in
trouble about it/ persuade, viz.,

by a bribe of money, which, " knowing the
covetous character of the man, they were
confidently able to promise." Trench, on
the A. V., p. 72. 15.] Justin Martyr

says that the Jews sent men far and wide
to disseminate this report.

16—20.] Appearance op the Lord
on a mountain in Galilee. This was
after the termination of the feast, allowing
two first days of the week, on .which the
Lord appeared to the assembled Apostles
(John xx. 19, 26), to elapse. It illustrates
the fragmentary nature of the materials out
of which our narrative is built, that the
appointment of this mountain as a place of
assembly for the eleven has not been men-
tioned, although the text seems to imply
that it has. Stior well remarks (Reden
Jesu, vii. 209) that in this verse St.
Matthew gives a hint of some interviews
having taken place previously to this in
Galilee. And it is important to bear
this in mind, as suggesting, if not the
solution, at least the ground of solution,

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10—19.

ST. MATTHEW.

215

*7 And "S^"-

■ a mountain r where Jesus had appointed them,
when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some*itnc&i7:
doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, iu: i.t?. °
K All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

JohnliLW:
T.M: Xlti.1:
ZTiLt.

19 Go ye [* therefore], and h n teach all ▼ nations, baptizing ISJLriJV

Eph. 1. 10, n._PhU. H. MO. Heb. i. t : ii. 8. 1 Pet. ili; Ji. JUy. xtU. 14. h In. 111. lo! °2uiL »,

Bom. x. 18. Col.i.«.
• render, the.

11 raufcr, make disciples of.

* omitted by many ancient authorities.

v render, the nations.

of the difficulties of this passage. Ver.
17 seems to present an instance of this
fragmentary narrative. The impression
given by it is that the majority of the
eleven worshipped Him, bat some doubted
(not, whether they should worship Him ;
which is absurd, and not implied in the
word). This however would hardly be
possible, after the two appearance* at
Jerusalem in John xx. We are therefore
obliged to conclude that others were present.
Whether these others were the ' 500 bre-
thren at once' of whom St.Paul speaks 1 Cor.
zv. 6, or some other disciples, does not ap-
pear. Olshausen and Stier suppose, from
the previous announcement of this meeting,
and the repetition of that announcement by
the angel, and by our Lord, that it probably
included all the disciples of Jesus ; at least,
all who would from the nature of the case
be brought together. 18. came]

They appear to have first seen Him at a
distance, probably on the top of the moun-
tain. This whole introduction forbids us
to suppose that the following words are
a mere compendium of what was said on
various occasions. Like the opening of
ch. v., it carries with it a direct asser-,
tion that what follows, was spoken then,
and there. All power is given,

4Vc] The words are a reference to the
prophecy in Daniel, which compare.
Given, — by the Father, in the fulfilment
of the Eternal Covenant, in the Unity of
the Holy Spirit. Now first is this cove-
nant, in its fulness, proclaimed upon earth.
The Resurrection was its last seal: the
Ascension was the taking possession of
the Inheritance. But the Inheritance is
already won ; and the Heir is only remain-
ing on earth for a temporary purpose — the
assuring His joint-heirs of the verity of His
possession. All power in heaven and

earth: see Eph. i. 20—23; Col. ii. 10;
Heb. i. 6; Rom. xiv. 9; Phil. ii. 9—11;
1 Pet. Hi. 22. 19.] thereforo is not

found, or found in varying forms, in many
of the ancient authorities. It is probably
a gloss, but an excellent one. It is the
glorification of the Son by the Father

through the Spirit, which is the founda-
tion of the Church of Christ in all the
world. And when we baptize into the
Name (i. e. into the fulness of the conse-
quence of the objective covenant, and the
subjective confession) of Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, it is this which forms the
ground and cause of our power to do so—
that this flesh of man, of which God hath
made all the nations, is glorified in the
Person of our Medeemer, through whom
we all have access by one Spirit to the
Father. Go ... . and make disci-

ples] Demonstrably, this was not under-
stood as spoken to the Apostles only, but
to all the brethren. Thus we read (Acts
yiii. 2, 4), "they were all scattered
abroad .... except the Apostles : — they
that were scattered abroad went every
where preaching the word." There is
peculiar meaning in make disciples of.
All power is given me— go therefore
and . . . subdue ? Not so : the purpose
of the Lord is to bring men to the know-
ledge of the truth — to work on and in their
hearts, and lift them up to be partakers of
the Divine Nature. And therefore it is not
' subdue,9 but make disciples of (see below),
all the nations again is closely con-
nected with " all power in earth*' all
the nations] including the Jews. It is ab-
surd to imagine that in these words of the
Lord there is implied a rejection of the
Jews, in direct variance with his commands
elsewhere, and also with the world-wide
signification of " in earth," above. Be-
sides, the (temporary) rejection of the Jews
consists in this, that they are numbered
among all the nations, and not a peculiar
people any longer : and are become, in the
providence of God, the subjects of that
preaching, of which by original title they
ought to have been the promulgators. We
find the first preachers of the gospel, so far
from excepting the Jews, uniformly bear-
ing their testimony to them first. With
regard to the difficulty which has been
raised on these words, — that if they had
been thus spoken by the Lord, the Apos-
tles would never have had any doubt about

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216

ST. MATTHEW.

XXVIII.

them w in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost : 2° teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with,
you x alway, even unto the end of the world. [7 Amen.']

render, into.

x render, all the days.

7 omit.

the admission of the Gentiles into the
Church,— I would answer that the Apostles
never had any doubt whatever about
admitting Gentiles,— only whether they
should not be circumcised first. In this
command, the prohibition of ch. x. 5 is for
ever removed. baptising them] Both

these present participles are the conditions
of the imperative preceding. The making
disciples consists of two parts — the initia-
tory, admissory rite, and the subsequent
teaching. It is much to be regretted that
the inadequate rendering, ' teach,9 has in
our Bibles clouded the meaning of these
important words. It will be observed that
in our Lord's words, as in the Church, the
process of ordinary discipleship is from
baptism to instruction— i. e. is, admission
in infancy to the covenant, and growing up
into observing all things commanded by
Christ — the exception being, what circum-
stances rendered so frequent in the early
church, instruction before baptism in the
case of adults. On this we may also
remark, that baptism, as known to the
Jews, included, just as it does in the Acts
(ch. xvi. 15, 33), whole households— wives
and children. As regards the com-

mand itself, no unprejudiced reader can
doubt that it regards the outward rite of
baptism, so well known in this gospel as
having been practised by John, and re-
ceived by the Lord Himself. And thus it
was immediately, and has been ever since,
understood by the Church. As regards all
attempts to explain away this sense, we
may say — even setting aside the testimony
furnished by the Acts of the Apostles, —
that it is in the highest degree improbable
that our Lord should have given, at a time
when He was summing up the duties of
His Church in such weighty words, a com-
mand couched in figurative or ambiguous
language — one which He must have known
would be interpreted by His disciples, now
long accustomed to the rite and its name,
otherwise than He intended it. into

the name . . .] Reference is apparently
made to the Baptism of the Lord himself,
where the whole Three Persons of the God-
head were in manifestation. Not the
names— but the name — setting forth the
Unity of the Godhead. into] It is
unfortunate again here that our English
Bibles do not give us the force of this word.

" In " should have been into, (as in Gal. iii.
27 al.,) both here and in-1 Cor. x. 2, and
wherever the expression is used. It im-
ports, not only a subjective recognition
hereafter by the child of the truth implied
in the Name, Ac., but an objective admis~
sion into the covenant of Redemption — a
putting on of Christ. Baptism is the
contract of espousal (Eph. v. 26) between
Christ and His Church. Our word 'in*
being retained both here and in our
formula of Baptism, it should always be
remembered that the Sacramental decla-
ration is contained in this word; that
it answers (as Stier has well observed, vii.
268) to the " This is my Body," in the
other Sacrament. On the difference be-
tween the baptism of John and Christian
baptism, see notes on ch. iii. 11 : Acts
xviii. 26 ; xix. 1—5. 90.] Even in

the case of the adult, this teaching must,
in greater part, follow his baptism;
though as we have seen (on ver. 19), in
his exceptional case, some of it must go
before. For this teaching is nothing less
' than the building up of the whole man
into the obedience of Christ. In these
words, inasmuch as the then living dis-
ciples could not teach all nations, does
the Lord found the office of Preachers in
His Church, with all that belongs to it, —
the duties of the minister, the school-
teacher, the scripture reader. This ' teach-
ing' is not merely the preaching of the
gospel — not mere proclamation of the good
news— but the whole catechetical office of
the Church upon and m the baptized.

and, lo, . . . .] These words imply
and set forth the Ascension, the manner
of which is not related by our Evangelist.

I, in the fullest sense : not the
Divine presence, as distinguished from the
Humanity of Christ. His Humanity is
with us likewise. The vine lives in the
branches. Stier remarks the contrast be-
tween this ' I am with you,' and the view
of Nicodemus (John iii. 2) * no man can do
these miracles— except God be with him.'

with yon] mainly, by the promise
of the Father (Luke xxiv. 49) which He
has poured out on his Church. But the
presence of the Spirit is the effect of the
presence of Christ— and the presence of
Christ is part of the gift of all power
above— the effect of the well-pleasing of

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20.

ST. MA1THEW.

217

the Father. So that the mystery of His
name Emmanuel (with which, as Stier
remarks, this Gospel begins and ends)
is fulfilled— God is with us. And—all
the (appointed) days— for they are num-
bered by the Father, though by none but
Him. onto the end of the world—

that time of which they had heard in so
many parables, and about which they had
asked, ch. zxiv. S— literally, the completion
of the state of time. After that, He will
be no more properly speaking with us, but
we with Sim (John xvii. 24) where He is.
To understand with yon only of the
Apostles and their (?) successors, is to
destroy the whole force of these most
weighty words. The command is to

the UniyebsaIi Church— to be per-
formed, in the nature of things, by her
ministers and teachers, the manner of
appointing which is not here prescribed,
but to be learnt in the unfoldings of Pro-
vidence recorded in the Acts of the Apos-

tles, who by his special ordinance were the
founders and first builders of that Church
— but whose office, on thai very account,
precluded the idea of succession or re-
newal. That St. Matthew does not

record the fact or manner of the Ascension,
is not to be used as a ground for any pre-
sumptions regarding the authenticity of
the records of it which we possess. The
narrative here is suddenly brought to a
termination : that in John ends with an
express declaration of its incompleteness.
What reasons there may have been for the
omission, either subjective, in the mind of
the author of the Gospel, or objective, in
the fragmentary character of the apostolic
reports which are here- put together, it is
wholly out of our power, in this age of the
world, to determine. As before remarked,
the fact itself is here and elsewhere in this
Gospel (see ch. xxii. 44; xxiv. 80 ; xxv. 14*
81 ; xxvi. 64) clearly implied.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

THE GOSPEL

ACCORDING TO

MARK.

■lu^lm.* I-*1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a the Son

b SSAft of God. ' * As it is written in * the prophets, b Behold, I send
Lnk«TiLi7. my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy

c u*. xl a. way [° before thee\. 3cThe voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his
paths straight. 4 ° John did baptize in the wilderness, and
preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
6 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and
they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the
river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 And John was
clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin

dLw.xi.ti about his loins; and he did eat d locusts and wild honey;

• Act.xiiL*. 7 an<j preached, saying, e There cometh one mightier than

a read, Esaias the prophet. D omit.

0 read, John the Baptist was in the wilderness preaching.

N.B. Throughout Mark, the parallel simpler, and gives more majesty to the

places in Matthew are to he consulted, opening, to put a period at the end of

Where the agreement is verbal, or nearly ver. 1, and make the citation from the

so, no notes are here appended. prophet a new and confirmatory title.

Chap. I. 1—8.] The preaching and of Jesus Christ] as its Author, or

baptism of John. Matt iii. 1—12. Luke as its Subject, as the context may deter-

iii. 1—17. The object of St. Mark being to mine. Here probably it is the latter : and

relate the official life and ministry of our so will mean, the glad tidings eoa-

Lord, he begins with His baptism ; and as a earning Jesus Christ 3, 3.] The

necessary introduction to i t» with the preach- citation here is from two prophets. Its.

ing of John the Baptist. His account of and Mai. ; see reff. The fact will Dot fail

John s baptism has many phrases in com- to be observed by the careful and honest

mon with both Matthew and Luke ; but student of (he Gospels. Had the citation

from the additional prophecy quoted in ver. from Isaiah stood first, it would have been

2, is certainly independent and distinct (see of no note, as Meyer observes. Coniult

Introduction to the Gospels). 1. be- notes on Matt. xi. 10 ; iii. 8. 4.] See

ginning] This is probably a title to on Matt. iii. 1. the baptism of repent-

what follows, as Matt. i. 1, and not con- knee, the baptism symbolic of repentance

nected with ver. 4» nor with ver. 2. It is and forgiveness-- of the death unto sin, and

Digitized by VjOOQIC

1. 1—14.

ST. MARK.

219

f iMLXliT.S.

Joel it. K.
Artaii.4:
1.46: xl. 15,
10. tee 1 Cor.
xii.ll.

I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
stoop down and unloose. 8 f I indeed have baptized you f ^i^J1-
with water: but he shall baptize you *with the Holy
Ghost. 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus
came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John
in Jordan. 10 And straightway coming up out of the
water, he saw the heavens d opened, and the Spirit like a
dove descending upon him: nand there came a voice
from heaven, saying, h Thou art my beloved Son, in ° whom h5j;i,x/7.
I am well pleased. 12 And immediately the spirit driveth
him into the wilderness. 1S And he was there in the wil-
derness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the
wild beasts ; and the angels ministered unto him. u Now
after that John was lput in prison , Jesus came into Galilee,

d render, cleft asunder. e read, thee.

f render, delivered up.

new birth unto righteousness. Theformer
of these only comes properly into the
notion of John's baptism, which did not
confer the Holy Spirit, ver. 8. 7.] to

stoop down «nd unloose . . . the expres-
sion is common to Mark, Luke, and John
(i. 27). It amounts to the same as bear-
ing the shoes — for he who did the last
would necessarily be also employed in
loosing and taking off the sandal. But
the variety is itself indicative of the inde-
pendence of Matthew and Mark of one
another. St. John used the two expres-
sions at different times, and our witnesses
have reported both. Stoop down is added
by St. Mark, who, as we shall find, is more
minute in circumstantial detail than the
other Evangelists. 8.] Matthew and

Luke add "and fire."

9—11.] JB8UB 18 BAPTIZED BY HIM.

Matt. in. 13—17. Luke in. 21, 22. 9.]

• from Vasarsth is contained here only.
The words with which this account is in-
troduced, express indefiniteness as to time.
It was (Luke lit. 21) after all the people
were baptized : see note there. The

commencement of this Gospel has no marks
of an eye-witness: it is the compendium
of generally current accounts. 10.]
straightway (immediately) is a favourite
connecting word with Mark. St. Mark
has here taken the oral account verbatim,
and applied it to Jesus, * Re saw,' &c. —
and him must mean himself: otherwise
we must understand John before saw, and
take coming up as pendent, which is very
improbable. The construction of the

sentence is a remarkable testimony of the
independence of Mark and Matthew even

when parts of the narrative agree verbatim.
See note on Matt. Hi. 16. deft asun-

der] Peculiar to Mark j and more descrip-
tive than " opened," Matthew, Lake.

Id, 13.] Tbmptatiok of Jbsub. Matt.
iv. 1— 11. Lukeiv. 1— 13. 12,13.]

drive = lead up Matthew, = lead Luke.
It is a more forcible word than either of
these to express the mighty and cogent
impulse of the Spirit. Satan : the devil,
Matthew, Luke : see note, Matt. iv. 1.
It seems to have been permitted to the evil
one to tempt our Lord during the whole
of the 40 days, and of this we have here,
as in Luke, an implied assertion. The ad-
ditional intensity of temptation at the end
of that period, is expressed in Matthew by the
tempter coming to Him — becoming visible
and audible. Perhaps the being with the
beasts may point to one form of temptation,
viz. that of terror, which was practised on
Him : — but of the inward trials, who may
speak ? There is nothing here to con- *

tradict the fast spoken of in Matthew and
Luke, as some have maintained. Our Evan •
gelist perhaps implies it in the last words
of ver. 13. It is remarkable that those
Commentators who are fondest of maintain-
ing that Mark constructed his narrative
out of those of Matthew and Luke, are also
most keen in pointing out what they call
irreconcilable differences between him and
them. No apportionment of these details
to the various successive parts of the
temptation is given by our Evangelist.
They are simply stated to have happened,
compendiously.

14, 15.] Jesus bbodcs His ministby.
Matt. iv. 12—17. Luke iv. H 15.

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220

ST. MARK.

I Dan. ix. SS.
Oal.W.4.
Eph. 1. 10.

preaching the gospel [8" of the kingdom] of God, 15 and
saying, i The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is
at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel. 16 Now as he
n walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew
his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were
fishers. J7 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And
kM»ttxix.?7. straightway kthey forsook their nets, and followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also
were in the ship mending their nets. 2° And straightway
he called them : and they left their father Zebedee in the
ship with the hired servants, and went after him. 21 And
they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sab-
bath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine : for he taught
8" omitted by many ancient authorities. ^ read, passed along.

14, 15] See notes on Matt. iv. 12.
delivered up] This seems to have been the
usual and well-known term for the im-
prisonment of John. The time is ful-
filled] See GaL iv. 4. " The end of the
old covenant is at hand ; . . . . the Son is
born, grown up, anointed (in his baptism),
tempted, gone forth, the testimony of his
witness is given, and now He witnesses
Himself; now begins that last speaking of
God, by Sis Son, (Heb. i. 1}, which hence-
forth shall be proclaimed in all the world
till the end comes." Stier. and be-
lieve the gospel] These words are in Mark
only. They furnish us an interesting
characteristic of the difference between the
preaching of John, which was that of
repentance— and of our Lord, which was
repentance and faith. It is not in Himself
as the Saviour that this faith is yet
preached: this He did not proclaim till
much later in his ministry: but in the
fulfilment of the time and approach of the
kingdom of Ood.

16—20.] Calling of Peteb, Axdbew,
James, and John. Matt. iv. 18—22. Al-
most verbatim as Matthew. The variations
are curious : after Simon, Mark omits which
was called Peter: — although the name
was prophetically given by our Lord before
this, in John i. 43, it perhaps was not
actually given, till the twelve became a
distinct body, see ch. ill. 16. The

" walked by " and the "casting a net into
the sea " are noticed by Meyer as belong-
ing to the graphic delineation which this
Evangelist loves. 19.] who also, as well

as the former pair of brothers. It belongs
only to " in the ship," not to the following
clause. 20.] with the hired servants

is inserted for particularity, and 'perhaps
to soften the leaving their father alone.
It gives us a view of the station of life of
Zebedee and his sons ; they were not poor
fishermen, but had hired servants. May
we not venture to say that both these
accounts came from Peter originally ? St.
Matthew's an earlier one, taught (or given
in writing perhaps) without any definite
idea of making it part of a larger work ;
but this carefully corrected and rendered
accurate, even to the omitting the name
Peter, which, though generally known,
and therefore mentioned in the oral ac-
count, was perhaps not yet formally given,
and must be omitted in the historical.
21—28.] Healing of a djkmokiac ik

THE SYNAGOGUE AT CaPEKVATTM. Luke

it. 31—37. 21.] Not immediately

after the preceding. The calling of the
Apostles, the Sermon on the Mount, the
healing of the leper, and of the centurion's
servant, precede the following miracle.
22. J A formula occurring entire at
the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matt,
vii. 28, and the first clause of it, — and, in
substance, the second also, — in the corre-
sponding place to this in Luke iv. 32.
28—28.] This account occurs in Luke iv.
33 — 87, nearly verbatim: for the varia-
tions, see there. It is very important for
our Lord's official life, as shewing that He
rejected and forbade all testimony to his
Person, except that which Me came on

Digitized by VjOOQIC

15—34. ST. MARK. Ml

them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an
unclean spirit ; and he cried out, 2* saying, p Let us
alone;] *what have we to do with .thee, thou Jesus of 1Matt *"'•»•
Nazareth ? k art thou come to destroy us ? I know thee
who thou art, the Holy One of God. ** And Jesus mre- ■«■«■
buked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
26 And when the unclean spirit nhad torn him, and cried nch,uso-
with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were
all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among them-
selves, saying, * What thing is this ? what new doctrine is
this ? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean
spirits, and they do obey him. ** And immediately his
fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about
Galilee. 29 And forthwith, when they were come out of
the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and
Andrew, with James and John. *° But Simon's wife's
mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
81 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her
up ; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered
unto them. 32 And at even, when the sun did set, they
brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that
were possessed with devils. M And all the city was
gathered together at the door. M And he healed many
that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils ;

* omitted by many authorities. * render, didst.

1 many ancient authorities read, What is this ? new doctrine with au-
thority : he commandeth even, $c.

earth to give. The daemons knew Him, a common source (but see notes on Luke),
but were silenced. (See Matt. viii. 29; are all identical in substance, but very
ch. v. 7.) It is of course utterly impossible diverse in detail and words. 8L] left
to understand such a testimony as that of her, of the fever, is common to all, and -
the sick person, still less of the fever or ministered unto them (or him), but no more,
disease. of Haaareth] We may ob- The same may be said of w. 32 — 34:— the
serve that this epithet often occurs under words of ver. 33 are added in our text,
strong contrast to His Majesty and glory ; shewing the accurate detail of an eye-
as here, and ch. xvi. 6, and Acts ii. 22 — 24 ; witness, as also does the minute specification
xxii. 8; and, wo may add, John xix. 19. of the house, and of the two accompany-
us, generic : the demons having a ing our Lord, in ver. 29. Observe the dis-
common cause. Bengel. torn him] tinction between the sick and the dcemo-
perhaps more properly, convulsed him. niacs : compare ch. iii. 15. Observe also
Luke adds, that he did* not injure him at many in both cases, in connexion with the
all. 28.] This miracle, which St. statement that the sun had set. tfhere
Mark and St. Luke relate first of all, is was not time for all. Meyer, who notices
not stated by them to have been the first, this, says also that in some the conditions
Compare John ii. 11. of healing may have been wanting. But
29—34.] Healing op Simon's mother- we do not find this obstacle existing on
in-law. Matt. viii. 14—17. Luke iv. other occasions: compare Matt. iv. 24;
38—41. The three accounts, perhaps from xii. 15; xiv. 14: Acts v. 16. On the not

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

222 ST. MARK. I. 86—45.

°2£!l!rt7iTi. an^ ° suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew
l7,18' him. S6 And in the morning, rising up a great while
before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place,
and there prayed. 8* And Simon and they that were with
him followed after him. 8? And when they had found
him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. M And
he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I

pi.*.ixi.i. may preach there also: for * therefore came I forth.

4m&.Vsl Q And he preached in their synagogues throughout all
Galilee, and cast out devils. *° And there came a leper to
him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and
saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand,
and touched him, and saith uhto him, I will; be thou
clean. *® And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the
leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. *& And
he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;
** and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man :
but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for

rLjv.xir.* 4. thy cleansing those things 'which Moses commanded, for
a testimony unto them. ** But he went out, and began to
publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch
that m Jesus could no more openly enter into the city,

■ ch.ii.is. but was without in desert places : "and they came tb him

from every quarter.

m in the original, he.

permitting the dromons to speak, see note 89.] See on Matt. iv. 23 : also on Luke iv.

above, ver. 26. I should be disposed to 44.

ascribe the account to Peter. Simon, 40 — 45.] Cleansing of a leper. Matt.

Andrew, James, and John occur together viii. 2—4. Luke v. 12 — 14. The account

again, ch. xiii. 3. here is the fullest, and evidently an original

36—38.] Jesus, being- bought out one, from an eye-witness. St. Luke men-

in His retirement, preaches and tions (ver. 15) the spreading of the fame

heals throughout Galilee. Luke iv. of Jesus, without assigning the cause as

42, 43, where see note. Our Lord's pre- in our ver. 46. See note on Matthew,

sent purpose was, not to remain in any It is characteristic of St. Mark, to assign

one place, but to make the circuit of our Lord's being moved with compassion

Galilee; not to work miracles, but to as the reason of His stretching out his

? reach. 36.] went out , from the house of hand. 44.] thyself, in the original,

'eter and Andrew, ver. 29. 86. they has an emphasis : trouble not thyself

that were with him] Andrew, John, and with talking to others, but go complete

James, ver. 29. 88.] came I forth = thine own case by getting thyself formally

"was I sent" Luke: not " undertook this declared pure. 46. came] literally,

journey:" lie had not yet begun any jour- were coming, which tells us more. Onr

ney, and it cannot apply to " went out " Lord did not wish to put a stop to the

above, for that was not to any city, nor to multitudes seeking Him, but only to avoid

preach. The word has its more solemn that kind of. concourse which would have

sense, as in John xvi. 28, though of course beset Him in the towns : the seeking to

not understood then by the hearers. To Him for teaching and healing still went

deny this is certainly not safe. on, and that from all parts.

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II. 1—11.

ST. MARK.

223

II. 1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some
days ; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And
straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that
there was n no more roam to receive them, no, not so much
as about the door : and he preached the word unto them.
8 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not
come nigh unto him for the *pres*, they uncovered the
roof where he was : and when they had broken it up, they
let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
6 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven [P thee] . 6 But there were
certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their
hearts, 7 Why doth this 'man * thus speak blasphemies?
who can forgive sins but God only ? 8 And immediately
when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned
within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye
these things in your hearts ? 9 Whether is it easier to say
to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to
say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk ? 10 But that
ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to
forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) n I say
unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way

* literally, no more room.

* many ancient authorities read,
who can . . .

0 render, multitude. P omit.

. speak thus ? He blasphemeth :

Chap. II. 1—12.] Healing op a pa-
ralytic at Capbbxattm. Mutt. ix. 2—8,
where see notes. Luke v. 17 — 26.— The
three are evidently independent accounts ;
St. Mark's, as usual, the most precise in de-
tails ; e. g. * borne of four:' St. Luke's also
bearing marks of an eye-witness (see ver. 19,
end) ; St. Matthew's apparently at second
hand. 2.1 In this rerse we have again

the peculiar minute depicting of Mark. A
recent learned Commentator believes "these
minute notices ... to be recorded by the
Evangelist with a studied design, lest it
should be supposed that, because he incor-
porates so much which is in St. Matthew's
gospel, he was only a copyist : and in order
to shew that he did so because he knew from
ocular testimony that St. Matthew's nar-
rative was adequate and accurate." I
mention this, to shew to what shifts the
advocates of the theory of the "inter-
dependence" of the Evangelists are now
reduced. Literally, So that not even

the parts towards the door (much less the

house) would any longer hold them (they
once sufficed to hold them). preached]
in the original it is in the strict imperfect
sense : He was speaking to them the word,
when that which is about to be related
happened. 8, 4.] It would appear

that Jesus was speaking to the crowd
from the upper story of the house, they
being assembled in the court, or perhaps
(but less probably) in the street. Those
who bore the paralytic ascended the stairs
which led direct from the street to the
flat roof of the house, and let him down
through the tiles (Luke). See the extract
from Dr. Robinson, describing the Jewish
house, in note on Matt. xxvi. 69. 7.

this man thus] the first word depreciates;
the second exaggerates. 8.] The

knowledge was immediate and super-
natural, as is most carefully and precisely
here signified. 11. I say unto thee]

The stress is on thee. The words are pre-
cisely those used, as so often in Mark, — and
denote the turning to the paralytic and

Digitized by VjOOQIC

224 ST. MARK. II.

into thine house. u And immediately he arose, took up
the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that
they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never
saw it on this fashion. 1S And he went forth again by
the sea side ; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and
he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the
[son] of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said
unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
16 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his
house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with
Jesus and his disciples : for there were many, and they
followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw
him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his
disciples, T How is it that he eateth and drinketh with
publicans and sinners ? *7 When Jesus heard it, he saith
• SVtS1' un*° them, a They that are whole have no need of the
iTiT'i.w. physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners [• to repentance] . 18 And the dis-
ciples of John and [* of] the Pharisees tx used to fast : and
they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of
Jojm and * of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them ? as
long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot

r some of the oldest MSS. read, He is eating and drinking with pub-
licans and sinners. * omit. * omit. xx render, were fasting :

namely, at this particular time. tt read, the disciples of.

addressing him. There may have been some think, in that of our Lord, which

something in his state, which required the last is a pure fiction, and is not any where

emphatic address. designated in the Gospel accounts. Cer-

18—22.] The calling of Levi, tainly the call, ver. 17, gives no counte-

Feast at his house : question con- nance to the view. Our Lord, and those

CERNING- pasting. Matt. ix. 9 — 17. Luke following Him as disciples, were ordinarily

v. 27— 39. I have discussed the question entertained where He was invited, which

of the identity of Matthew and Levi in the will account for their following Him.

notes on Matthew. The three accounts there were many, and they followed him,

are in matter nearly identical, and in die- is peculiar to Mark. 16.] The question

tion so minutely and unaccountably varied, was after the feast, at which, being in the

as to declare here, as elsewhere, their inde- house of a Publican, they were not present.
pendence of one another, except in having 18.] St. Mark here gives a notice for

had some common source from which they the information of his readers, as in ch. vii.

have more or less deflected. These re- 3, which places shew that his Gospel was

marks do not apply to the diversity of the not written for the use of Jews. It appears

names Matthew and Levi, which must be from this account, which is here the more

accounted for on other grounds. See, as circumstantial, that the Pharisees and dis-

throughout the passage, the notes on Mat- ciples of John asked the question in the

thew. 18.] again, see ch. i. 16. On the third person, as of others. In Matthew it is

[son] of Alphaus see notes, Matt. xiii. 55 ; the disciples of John, and they join we and

and x. 1 ff. 15.] The entertainment the Pharisees. In Luke, it is the Pharisees

was certainly in Levi's house, not as and Scribes, and they ask as here.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

12—26.

ST. MARK.

225

fast. 2° But the days will come, when the bridegroom
shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in
▼ those days. 21 No man also seweth a piece of w new cloth
on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up
taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles : else
the [z new] wine 7 doth burst the bottles, and the wine is
spilled, and the bottles 77 will be marred : [■ but new wine
must be put into new bottles.] *& And it came to pass,
that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day ;
and his disciples began, as they went, b to pluck the ears of bgjut-xxi»-
corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why
do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read cwhat eis»m.xxi.«.
David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he,
and they that were with him ? 26 How he went into the
house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and
v read, that day. w literally, un-fulled.

x omit. 7 read, will.

77 read, marred. * omitted in some ancient copies.

19.] The repetition in the last clause, con-
tained neither in Matthew nor Luke, is in-
consistent with the design of an abridger ;
and sufficiently shews the primary autho-
rity of this report, as also in that day,
ver. 20. St. Mark especially loves these
solemn repetitions : compare ch. ix. 42 ff.
It is strange to see such a Commentator
as De Wette calling the repetition, in
that day, a proof of carelessness. It is a
touching way, as Meyer well observes, of
expressing * in that dark day.' 21.]

Bender, according to the correct reading,
which cannot well be explained in the
margin, the filling-up takes away from it,
the new from the old, and a worse rent
takes place. See note on Matthew. The
addition here of the new confirms the
view taken of the parable there.

23—28.] The disciples pluck eabs
of cobn on the Sabbath. Matt. xii.
1 — 8. Luke vi. 1 — 5. The same may be
said of the three accounts as in the last
case, with continually fresh evidence of
their entire independence of one another.
28. began, as they went, to pluck]
literally, began to make their way, pluck-
ing ... is matter of detail and minute
depiction. The interpretation of this nar-
rative given by Meyer, I believe to be an
entirely mistaken one. He urges the strict
sense of * to make a way,' and insists on the
sense conveyed by our narrative being, as
Vol. I.

distinguished from those in Matthew, Luke,
that the disciples made a way for them'
selves through the wheat field, by plucking
the ears of corn, further maintaining, that
there is no allusion hereto their having eaten
the grains of wheat, as in Matthew, Luke.
But (1) the foundation on which all this is
built is insecure. The same Greek expres-
sion in the LXX does undoubtedly mean
' to make one's journey.' And (2) as to no
allusion being made to their having eaten
the corn, how otherwise could the 'had
need' have been common to the dis-
ciples and to David. Could it be said
that any necessity compelled them to clear
the path by pulling up the overhanging
stalks of corn ? How otherwise could the
remarkable addition in our narrative, ver.
27, at all bear upon the case ? Fritzsche's
rendering, ' to mark the way by plucking
ears* and strewing them in it/ is still
worse. 28. he] emphatic, — Himself,

taking up the cause of his disciples, and not
leaving their defence to themselves.
26.] In the days of Abiathar the high
priest: i. e. necessarily in the original,
during the high priesthood of Abiathar.
But in 1 Sam. xxL, from which this ac-
count is taken, Ahimelech, not Abiathar,
is the High Priest. There is however con-
siderable confusion in the names about this
part of the history : Ahimelech himself is
called Ahiah, 1 Sam. xiv. 8 ; and whereas
Q

Digitized by VjOOQIC

226

ST. MARK.

II. 27, 28.

d Bxod. xxix.
U.SS. Lct.

ZXlT.O.

did eat the shewbread, d which is not lawful to eat but for
the priests, and gave also to them which were with him ?
2? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made n/or
man, and not man *Efor the sabbath : ** therefore the Son
of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

III. 1 And he entered *again into the synagogue ; and
there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And
they watched him, whether he would heal him on the
sabbath day ; that they might accuse him. 3 And he
saith unto the man which had the withered hand, * Stand
forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good
on the sabbath days, or to do evil ? to save life, or to kill ?
But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked
round about on them with anger, being grieved for the
hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch
forth thine hand. And he stretched it out ; and his hand
was restored whole [° as tie other] . 6 And the Pharisees
eXftttxxii.ie. went forth, and straightway took counsel with ethe

11 render, on account of.

* literally, Rise up in the midst.

omit.

(1 Sam. xxii. 20) Ahimelech hoe a ton
Abiathar, in 2 Sam. viii, 17, Ahimelech
is the eon of Abiathar, and in 1 Chron.
xvhi. 16, Ahimelech. Amidst this varia-
tion, we can hardly undertake to explain
the difficulty in the text. In some MSS.
the words are omitted; in others they are
altered, to give the words strictly the
sense ' In the time of Abiathar the High
Priest/ so that the difficulty might he
avoided by understanding the event to
have happened in the time of (bat not
necessarily during the high priesthood of)
Abiathar (who was afterwards) the High
Priest. But supposing the reading to be
so, what author would in an ordinary nar-
rative think of designating an event thus ?
Who for instance would speak of the
defeat of the Philistines at Ephesdammim,
where Goliath fell, as happening in the
time of David the king ? Who would ever
understand, * in the time of EUtamt the
prophet,* as importing, in matter of feet,
any other period than that of the prophetic
course of Elisha ? Tet this is the way
in which the difficulties of the Gospels
have been attempted to be healed over.
With the restoration of the true reading
(see my Greek Test.), even this resource
fails. 27.] peculiar to Mark, and highly
important. The Sabbath was an ordinance
for man ; for man's rest, both actually and

typically, as setting forth the rest which
remains for God's people (Heb. iv. 9). But
He who is now speaking has taken on
himself Manhood, the whole nature of
Man : and is rightful lord over creation as
granted to man, and of all that is made
for man, and therefore of the Sabbath.
The whole dispensation of time is created
for many for Christ as He it man, and is
in his absolute power. There is a remark-
able parallel, in more than the mere mode
of expression, in 2 Mace v. 19 : God did
not choose the people for the place's sake,
but the place for the people's sake.
28.1 also, as well as of His other domains
or elements of lordship and power.

Chap, III. 1—6.] Healing op the
withered hand. Matt. xii. 9 — 14. Luke
vi. 6 — 11. On Matthew's narrative, see
notes on Luke. The two other accounts
are cognate, though each has some parti-
culars of its own. 1.] again, see ch. i.
21; "on another Sabbath," Luke. The
synagogue was at Capernaum. 2.] St.
Luke only* adds that it was the Scribes and
Pharisees who watched Him. 4.] unto
them. St Luke adds " I will ask you one
thing :" as his account is the most de-
tailed, I refer to the notes there. 5.]
being grieved for the hardness of their
hearts— peculiar to Mark : the word im-
plies sympathy with their (spiritually)

Digitized by VjOOQIC

III. 1—17. ST. MARK. 227

Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea :
and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from
Judsea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from Idumsea, and
from beyond Jordan ; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a
great multitude, when they had heard what great things
he did, came unto him. 9 And he spake to his disciples,
that a small ship should wait on him because of the multi-
tude, lest they should throng him. 10 For he [*had]
healed many ; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to
touch him, as many as had plagues. ll f And * unclean f ftyfe.%.
spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and
cried, saying, 8 Thou art the Son of God. ™ And ^efS?*!^
• stratify charged them that they should not make him
known. 13 And he goeth up into f a mountain, and calleth
unto him whom * he would : and they came unto him.
14 And he * ordained twelve, that they should be with him,
and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 and to
have power [* to heal sicknesses, and] to cast out devils :
16 and Simon 'he surnamed Peter; W and James pthe son iMata.
of Zebedee, and John the brother of James ; and he sur-

c not in the original. * render, the unclean spirits.

• render, charged them much. ' render, the.

8 literally, he himself. n render, appointed.

* omitted in some of the oldest MSS. k not expressed in the original.

miserable state of hard-heartedness. nble that any hut the spirits could have
6. Herodians] See notes on Matt. xvi. 6, known that He was the Son of God, so
and xxii. 16. Why the Pharisees and it was the material body of the possessed
Herodians should now combine, is not which fell down before Him, and their
apparent. There must have been some voice which uttered the cry : see note on
reason of which we are not aware, which Matt. viii. 32. The notion of the semi-
united these opposite sects in enmity rationalists that the Bick identified them-
against our Lord. selves with the demons, is at once refuted
7 — 12.] A oenbbal sttmmabt op by the universal agreement of the testi-
ottb Lobd's healing and casting out mony given on such occasions, that Jesus
devils bt the 8EA of Galileb. Pecu- was the Son of God.
liar in this shape to Mark ; but probably 13—19.] The appointment op the
answering to Matt. xii. 15 — 21. Luke vi. Twelve, and its purposes. Matt. x.
17—19. The description of the multi- 1—4. Luke vi. 12—16. See Luke, where
titudes, and places whence they came, sets we learn that He went up overnight to pray.
before us, more graphically than any where and called his disciples to Him when it was
else in the Gospels, the composition of the day, — and notes on Matthew. On the
audiences to which the Lord spoke, and mountain see Matt. v. 1. 14.] The
whom He healed. The repetition of a literal sense of the word rendered ordained
great multitude (ver. 8) is the report of is made : i. e. nominated,— set apart. We
one who saw the numbers from Tyre and have here the most distinct intimation of
Sidon coming and going. 11.1 The any, of the reason of this appointment,
unclean spirits are here spoken of in the 16.1 On the list of the Apostles, see
person of those possessed by them, and the note at Matt. x. 2. The name Peter,
two fused together : for as it was impos- according to St. Mark, seems to be now first

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228

ST. MARK.

III. 18—35.

kch.yi.Sl.

Uohnvli.6

named them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder :
18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
Matthew, and Thomas, and James [* the son] of Alphseus,
and Thaddffius, and Simon the l Canaanite, 19 and Judas
Iscariot, which also betrayed him.

And they went into an house. 20 And the multitude
cometh together again, k so that they could not so much as
eat bread. 21 And when his friends heard of it, they went
out to lay hold on him : l for they said, He is beside him-
self. 22 And the scribes which came down, from Jerusalem
"lS? *FiE' s^d, m He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils
ffiftJiSif01 casteth he out devils. ^ And he called them unto him,
and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out
Satan ? u And if a kingdom be divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand. ** And if a house be divided
against itself, that house cannot stand. M And if Satan
rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand,

fc not expressed in the original. * read, Canansean : see note on Matt, x. 4.

resumed by then in ver. 31 : see reff.
went ont (perhaps from Nazareth,— or,
answering to John ii. 12, from Caper-
naum), set ont : see ch. v. 14. They heard
of his being so beset by crowds : see vv.
7—11. Our version is right in giving

the meaning He is mad: for the sense
requires it. They had doubtless heard of
the accusation of his having a damon:
which we must suppose not to have first
begun after this, but to have been going
on throughout this course of miracles.
S2J the scribes which came down
from Jerusalem .... peculiar to Mark : see
note on Matt. ver. 24. Here Matthew has
u the Pharisees"— Luke "some of them,"
i. e. " the people." He hath Beeliebub]
This addition is most important. If He
was possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of
the daemons, He would thus have autho-
rity over the inferior evil spirits.
38.] he called them unto him is not
inconsistent with His being in an house —
He called them to Sim, they having been
far off. We must remember the large
courts in the oriental houses. in para-
bles, namely, a kingdom, &c., a house, Ac.,
the strong man, &c. How can Satan

oast ont Satan!] The external unity of
Satan and his kingdom is strikingly de-
clared by this simple way -of putting the
question ; see note on Matthew. The ex-
pression must not be taken as meaning, Can
one devil cast out another ? The Satan
who casts out and the Satan who is cast out

given. This, at all events, does not look
like the testimony of Peter : but perhaps
the words are not to be so accurately
pressed. 17.] Boanerges,— perhaps on

account of their vehement and zealous dis-
position, of which we see marks Luke ix.
64 : Mark ix. 38 ; x. 87 : see also 2 John 10;
but this is uncertain.

20 — 85.] Chabges against Jesus,—
of madness bt his belation8, —
07 demoniacal possession bt the
Scribes. His beflies. Matt. xii. 22—
37, 46-50. Luke xi. 14-26 ; viii. 19—21.
Our Lord had just cast out a deaf and
dumb spirit (Bee notes on Matthew) in the
open air (Matt., ver. 23), and now they re-
tire into the house. The omission of this,
wholly inexplicable if St. Mark had had
either Matthew or Luke before him, belongs
to the fragmentary character of his Gospel.
The common accounts of the compilation
of this Gospel are most capricious and ab-
surd. In one place, St. Mark omits a dis-
course— 'because it was not his purpose
to relate discourses ;' in another he gives
a discourse, omitting the occasion which
led to it, as here. The real fact being,
that the sources of St. Mark's Gospel are
generally of the highest order, and most
direct, out the amount of things con-
tained very scanty and discontinuous.
20. again] resumed from ch. ii. 2.
21.] Peculiar to Mark. his

friends] those from his house : his rela-
tions, beyond a doubt — for the sense is

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IV. 1. . ST. MARK. 229

but hath an end. 27nNo man can enter into a strong nI"-xllxM-

man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind

the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28 ° Verily I say unto you, All msins shall be forgiven unto ouohnv.io.

the sons of men, and n blasphemies wherewith soever they

shall blaspheme : 29 but he that shall blaspheme against

the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is ° in danger

of eternal damnation : 8° because they said, He hath an

unclean spirit.

81 There came then his brethren and his mother, and,
standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 82 And the
multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold,
thy mother and thy brethren P without seek for thee.
88 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or
my brethren ? ** And he looked round about on them
which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren ! ^ For whosoever shall do the will of God, the
same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

IV. l And he began again to teach by the sea side : and
there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he
entered into D a ship, and sat in the sea ; and the whole

m render, their sins. n render, the blasphemies.

0 read, guilty of eternal sin.

P after brethren some ancient MSS. insert, and thy sisters.
D render, the.

are the same person: compare ver. 26. "He stretched forth his hand upon his
28.] but hath an end, peculiar to Mark, disciples." .... Both accounts were from
29. guilty of eternal sin] Beza eye-witnesses, the one noticing the out-
explains eternal by * never to be wiped out.' stretched hand ; the other, the look cast
It is to the critical treatment of the round. Deeply interesting are such par-
sacred text that we owe the restoration ticulars, the more so, as shewing the way
of such important and deep-reaching ex- in which the records arose, and their
pressions as this. It finds its parallel in united strength, derived from their inde-
ye shall die in your tins, John vui. 24. pendence and variety.
Kuinoel's idea, quoted and adopted by Chap. IV. 1—9.] Pabable of the
Wordsw., that sin means the punishment bowbb. No fixed mark of date. Matt.
of sin, seems to be entirely unfounded, xiii. 1 — 9. Luke viii. 4 — 8. There is the
And as to its being " a Novatian error to same intermixture of absolute verbal iden-
assert that sin is eternal" (Wordsw.), it is tity and considerable divergence, as we
at all events a legitimate inference from have so often noticed : which is wholly
"hath never forgiveness" (literally, remis- inexplicable on the ordinary suppositions.
sion). If a sin remains unremitted for ever, In this case the vehicles of the parable in
what is it but eternal ? 80.1 explains Matthew and Mark (see Matthew, w. 1 — 3 ;
the ground and meaning of this awful Mark, w. 1, 2) bear a strong, almost verbal,
denunciation of the Lord. 81.] resemblance. Such a parable would be
standing without, sent unto him, calling carefully treasured in all the Churches as a
him is one of Mark's precise details. subject of catechetical instruction : and,
82.] And the multitude sat about him is in general, in proportion to the popular
another such. 84.] Matthew here has nature of the discourse, is the resemblance
some remarkable and graphic details also : stronger in the reports of it. 1. again]

Digitized by VjOOQIC

230 ST. MARK. IV.

multitude was by the sea on the land. % And he taught

pch.xu.w. them many things by parables, *and said unto them in
his doctrine, 3 Hearken ; Behold, c there went out a sower
to sow : 4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by
the way side, and the fowls \^of the air] came and
devoured it up. 5 And some fell on • stony ground, where
it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up,
because it had no depth of earth : 6 but when the sun was
up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it
withered away. 7 And some fell among ' thorns, and the
thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

qcS.ni.xi'*" 8 And other fell on 9 good ground, *and did yield fruit that
sprang up and increased ; and brought forth, some thirty,
and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said
I}1 unto them], He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
J° And when he was alone, they that were about him with
the twelve asked of him the Sparable. n And he said unto
them, Unto you [* if] is given [* to know] the mystery of

r cSl'vTb?*" the kingdom of God: but unto rthem that are without,
ii hiT£: all p these] things are done in parables : 12 ■ that seeing

"j&!rii.4A. ^ey mav 8ee> an(^ no* perceive; and hearing they may
**££&. hear, and not understand ; lest at any time they should be
converted, and m their sins should be forgiven them.
13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable ? and
how [n then] will ye know all parables ?

c render, the sower went out. d omit.

6 render, the stony ground. * render, the thorns.

% render, the good ground. ft omit.

* read, parables. * omit. 1 not in the original.

m some ancient authorities read, it should be forgiven them, impersonal :
i.e. they should have forgiveness. n not in the original.

see ch. iii. 7. The began is coincident are without added here (" the rest," Lake)

with the gathering together of the crowd, means the multitudes — those ont of the

2. ] Ont from among the many circle of his followers. In the Epistles,

things, the great mass of His teaching, all who are not Christians, — the cor-

one parable is selected, which he spoke responding meaning for those days, — are

during it— in his doctrine. 3.1 Hearken designated by it. 12.] We must keep

— this solemn prefatory word is peculiar the that strictly to its full meaning — in

to Mark. 4—8.] Matthew and Mark order that. When God transacts a matter,

agree nearly verbally. In ver. 7 St. Mark it is idle to say that the result is not the

adds and it yielded no fruit, and in ver. 8, purpose. He doeth all things after the

that sprang np and increased. counsel of His own will. St. Matthew, as4

10—12.] Reason pob speaking in usual, quotes a prophecy ; St. Mark hardly'

parables. Matt. xiii. 10 — 17. Luke viii. ever — except at the beginning of his

9, 10. 10.] they that were about Gospel : St. Luke, very seldom,

him with the twelve; "his disciples" 13—20.] Explanation op the pa-

Luke. 11.] the mystery; "themys- bable of the soweb. In this parable

teries " Matthew and Luke. them that the general question which had been asked

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2—24. ST. MARK. 231

14 The sower soweth the word. 16 And these are they
by the way side, where the word is sown ; but when they
have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away
the word that was sown in ° their hearts. 16 And these are
they likewise which are sown on V stony ground; who,
when they have heard the word, immediately receive it
with gladness ; 17 and have no root in themselves, and so

* endure but for a time : afterward, when affliction or
persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they
are offended. 18 And r these are they which are sown
among thorns ; * such as hear the word, 19 and the cares of

* this world, * and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of %\^m-^9»
other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on

» good ground ; such as hear the word, and receive it, and

bring forth fruit, some y thirtyfold, some sixty, and some

an hundred. 21uAnd he said unto them, Is a candle aS&iift«:

brought to be put under wa bushel, or under wa bed? l1"88'

and not to be set on w a candlestick ? 22TFor there isv£*&5£V

nothing hid, z which shall not be manifested ; neither was

any thing kept secret, but that it should come 7 abroad.

23 w If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 2* And w£jt9.x,,w*

0 read, them. P render, the stony places.

* or, are creatures of circumstances : see note on Mate, xiii 21.

r read, others. * read, these are they which have heard.

* read, the. tt render, the good ground.
v render, thirty, as in ver. 8. w render, the.

x the reading is in some uncertainty. That of the Vatican MS. and the Sinaitic

which seems the best, is, except that it should be manifested.

y render, to light.

ver. 10 with regard to parables is tacitly the lusts of other things :— and some varia-
assumed to have had special reference tions, e. g. Satan for St. Matthew's " the
to the one parable which has been given wicked one," and St. Luke's " the devil."
at length. Or we may understand, that Such matters are not trifling, because
the question of ver. 10 took the form they shew the gradual deflection of verbal
which is given in Matthew : " Why expression in different versions of the same
speahest thou unto them in parables ? " in report, — nor is the general agreement of
which case the words must mean, asked St. Luke's, which seems to be from a dif-
Him concerning parables ; or His para- ferent hearer. 16.] likewise, after the
bles. The three explanations (see Matt, same analogy :— carrying on a like principle
xiii. 18 — 28 : Luke viii. 9 — 16) are very of interpretation. 20.] Notice the con-
nearly related to one another, with however eluding words of the interpretation exactly
differences enough to make the common reproducing those of the parable, ver. 8, as
' hypotheses quite untenable. Matthew and characteristic. It is remarkable that the

-lark agree nearly verbatim ; Matthew same is found in Matthew but in another

however writing throughout in the sin- form and order: one taking the climax, the

gular. Mark has some additions, e. g. the other the anticlimax. In Luke, the two are

sower soweth the word, ver. 14,— after varied. 31—85.] Luke viii. 16 — 18;

" the deceitfulness of riches," ver. 19, and and for ver. 26, Matt. xiii. 12. The rest is

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

23&

ST. MARK.

* S&tti. be sa*d un*° ^em, Take heed what ye hear : x with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you : and * unto

7l2i»S£ml y°u t&at hear shall more be given. ** * For he that hath, to
him shall be given : and he that hath not, from him shall
be taken even that which he hath. 26 And he said, So is
the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the
ground ; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and
the seed should spring and grow up, a he knoweth not
how. 28 [b For] the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself;
first the blade, then the ear, after that tthe full corn in
the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, imme-

xRer.xiT.u. diately she putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is
come.

1 read, more shall be given unto you.

a literally, he himself. D omit. c read, there is

mostly contained in other parts of Matthew
(v. 15; x. 26; vii. 2), where see notes.
Here it is spoken with reference to teach-
ing by parables: — that they might take
care to gain from them all the instruction
which they were capable of giving: — not
hiding them under a blunted understand-
ing, nor, when they did understand them,
neglecting the teaching of them to others.
554.] more shall be given unto you
(see Tar. readd.), more shall be added, i. e.
more knowledge; so Euthymius: "with
what measure ye measure your attention,
with the seme shall knowledge be measured
to you : i. e. as much attention as you give,
so much knowledge shall be served out to
you, and not only so much, but even

more In the gospel according to

Matthew this is said in another manner,
and with another intent."

26—29.] Parable of the seed grow-
ing we enow not how. Peculiar to
Mark. By Commentators of the Straus-
sian school it is strangely supposed to be
the same as the parable of the tares, with
the tares left out. If so, a wonderful
and most instructive parable has arisen
out of the fragments of the other, in
which the idea is a totally different one.
It is, the growth of the once-deposited
seed by the combination of its own de-
velopment with the genial power of the
earth, all of course under theNcreative
hand of God, but independent of human
care and anxiety during this time of
growth. 26.J Observe said, without

unto fA^m— implying that He is now pro-
ceeding with his teaching to the people :
compare ver. 83. a man] Some diffi-

culty has been felt about the interpretation

of this man, as to whether it is Christ or
his ministers. The former certainly seems
to be excluded by should sleep, and he
knoweth not how,' ver. 27; and perhaps
the latter by putteth in the sickle, ver.
29. But I believe the parable to be one
taken simply from human things, — the
sower being quite in the background, and
the whole stress being on the seed — its
power and its development. The man then
is just the farmer or husbandman, hardly
admitting an interpretation, but necessary
to the machinery of the parable.
Observe, that in this case it is not. his
seed as in Luke viii. 6,— and the agent is
only hinted at in the most general way.
If a meaning must be assigned, the best is
"human agency" in general. 27.]

sleep and rise— i. e. employs himself other-
wise— goes about his ordinary occupations.
The seed sown in the heart is in its growth
dependent on other causes than mere
human anxiety and watchfulness:— on a
mysterious power implanted by God in the
seed and the soil combined, the working of
which is hidden from human eye.
No trouble of ours can accelerate the
growth, or shorten the stages through
which each seed must pass. It is

the mistake of modern Methodism, for
instance, to be always working at the
seed, taking it up to see whether it is
growing, instead of leaving it to God's
own good time, and meanwhile diligently
doing God's work elsewhere: see Stier,
iii. p. 12. Wesley, to favour his system,
strangely explains sleep and rise night
and day, exactly contrary to the meaning
of the parable— "that is, has it continually
in his thoughts." 29.] he putteth in-

Digitized by VjjOOQIC

25-39. ST. MARK. 288

80 And he said, a d Whereunto • shall we liken the king- •ftft.Vu.
dom of God ? or with what comparison e shall we compare xlx'80,
it ? 81 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it
is sown f in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be f in
the earth : 32 but when it is sown, it groweth up, and
becometh greater than all herbs, and 8 shooteth out great
branches ; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the
shadow of it. ^ b And with many such parables spake he woimwi.ii.
the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. ** But
without a parable spake he not unto them : and when
they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
85 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith
unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And
when they had sent away the multitude, they took him
even as he was in the ship. And there were also with
him other n little ships. 87 And there arose a great
storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it
was now ifull. 38 And he was in the hinder part , of the
ship, asleep on k a pillow : and they awake him, and say
.unto him, Master, carest thou not that we 'perish ? 89 And
he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea,
Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a

d read, how. e render, must. f render, upon.

* render, maketh. n read, ships. i render, filling.

* render, the.

i. e. the husbandman, see above. See the tares, Matt. xiii. 86 if., and the toying

Joel iii. 13, to which this verse is a refer- concerning defilement, Matt. xv. 15 ff. To

ence : — also Rev. xiv. 14, 15, and 1 Pet. i. these we may add the two parables in John

23 — 25. —eh. x. 1 — 18, which however was pub-

30—34.] Parable op the gbaih of licly explained,— and ch. xv. 1—12;— and

if ustabd seed. Matt. xiii. 31 — 35. Luke perhaps Luke xvi. 9 ; xviii. 6—8.
xiii. 18, 19. 80.1 This Rabbinical 35 — 41.] The stilling op the stobm.

method of questioning before beginning a Matt. viii. 18, 23—27. Luke viii. 22—25.

discourse is also found in Luke, ver. 18, — Mark's words bind this occurrence by a

without however the condescending plural, precise date to the preceding. It took

which embraces the disciples, in their work place in the evening of the dag on which

of preaching and teaching, — and indeed the Parables were delivered : and our ac-

gives all teachers an example, to what count is so rich in additional particulars,

they may liken the Kingdom of God. as to take the highest rank among the

81.1 The repetition of expressions verbatim three as to precision. 86.] even as

in discourses is peculiar to Mark : so in the he was, i. e. without any preparation or

earth here, and cannot stand ch. iii. 24, 25, refreshment. other ships] These -

26 : and see a very solemn instance, ch. ix. were probably some of the multitudes

44 — 48. 88.] and shooteth out great following, who seem to have been sepa-

branches 1b also peculiar. See notes on rated from them in the gale. 87.] a

Matthew and Luke. 38.] as they were storm of wind is also in Luke, whose account

able to hear it, according to their capa- is in the main so differently worded,

city of receiving :— see note on Matt. xiii. 38.] the pillow, the cushion or seat at the

12. 84.] when they were alone . . . stern, used by our Lord as a pillow.

We have three such instances— the sower, 89.] Peace, be still : these remarkable

Digitized by VjOOQIC

234 ST. MARK. IV. 40, 41.

great calm. *° And he said unto them, Why are ye so
fearful ? how is it that ye have no faith ? 41 And they
feared Exceedingly, and said one to another, m What
manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey
him?

V. l And they came over unto the other side "of the sea,
into the country of the n Gadarenes. 2 And when he was
come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of
the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his
dwelling among the tombs ; and no man could bind him,
no, not with chains : 4 because that he had been often
bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces :
neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night
and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs,
crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he
saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 and cried
with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of the most high God ? I adjure thee by
God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him,
Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9 And he
asked him, What is thy name ? And he answered, saying,

1 literally, with a great fear. m render, Who then is this.

n the reading is uncertain, but GergeseneS seem* here most likely. Some
ancient MSS. have Gerasenes. See on Matt. viii. 28 : and my Greek Test., Vol. I.
Prolegomena, ch. vi.

words' are given only here. On the varia- specifying for what part of the body. 6.]
tions in the account*, see on Matthew, ver. alar off and ran are peculiar to Mark.
25. 41.] The then expresses the inference 7.] I adjure thee by God ; " I beseech thee "
from the event which they had witnessed: Luke. 8.] St. Mark generally uses the
Who then is this, seeing He doeth such direct address in the second person : see
things ? ver. 12. For He said] literally, For He
Chap. V. 1.— 90.] Healing op a dje- was saying to him, Ac 9.] for we are
moniac at Gebgesa. Matt. viii. 28—34. many has perhaps given rise to the report
Luke viii. 26—39. The accounts of St. of two cUemoniacs in Matthew. I cannot
Mark and St. Luke are strictly cognate, and see in the above supposition any thing
boar traces of having been originally given which should invalidate the testimony of the
by two eye-witnesses, or perhaps even by one Evangelists. Rather are all such tracings
and the same, and having passed through of discrepancies to their source, most in-
others who had learnt one or two minute teresting and valuable. Nor can 1 con-
additional particulars. St. Matthew's ac- sent for a moment to accept here the very
count is evidently not from an eye-witness, lame solution which supposes one of the
Some of the most striking circumstances are damoniacs not to be mentioned by St. Mark
there omitted. See throughout notes on and St. Luke : in other words, that the least
Matthew, wherever the narrative i* in circumstantial account is in possession of an
common. 4.] The because gives the additional particular which gives a new
reason, not why he could not be bound, but aspect to the whole : for the plural, used
why the conclusion was come to that he here and in Luke of the many daemons in
could not. The fetters are shackles for the one man, is there used of the two men, and
feet, the chains for general use, without their separate daemons. On legion see

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V. 1—21. ST. MARK. 235

My name is Legion : for we are many. 10 And he

besought him much that he would not send them away out

of the country. n Now there was there nigh unto the

mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And ° all the

devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that

we may enter into them. 1S And forthwith Jesus gave

them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and

entered into the swine : and the herd ran violently down

* a sleep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand ;)

and were ' choked in the sea. 14» And they that fed the

swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country.

And they went out to see what it was that was done.

15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed

with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed,

and in his right mind : and they were afraid. 16 And

they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was

possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

!7 aAnd they began to pray him to depart out of their »AouxTi.».

coasts. 18 And b when he was come into the ship, he that

had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he

might be with him. 19 c Howbeit Jesus suffered him not,

but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them

how d great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath

had compassion on thee. 2° And he departed, and began

to publish in Decapolis how d great things Jesus had done

for him : and all men did marvel.

21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto
the other side, much people gathered unto him : and he

0 read, they. * render, the precipice.

* read, as he was getting into the ship.

c read, And he. d render, many.

note, Luke, ver. 80. 10.] lend them times have been prejudicial to them : —

away out of the country; "command see note on Matthew, ver. 32 (I. 4).

them to go out into the deep " Luke :- see on 20.1 Qadara (see on Matt. viii. 28) was one

Matthew, ver. 30. 13.] about two of the cities of Decapolis (see also on Matt,

thousand :— peculiar to Mark, who gives us iv. 25). " Our Lord, in His humility,

usually accurate details of this kind : see ascribed the work to His Father : but the

ch. vi. 37,— where however John (vi.7) also healed man, in his gratitude, attributed it

mentions the sum. 15, 16.] Omitted by to Christ." Euthymius. He commands

St. Matthew, as also vv. 18— 20. The whole the man to tell this, for He was little

of this is full of minute and interesting known in Peraea where it happened, and

detail. 18.] Euthymius and Theophy- so would have no consequences to fear, as in

lact suppose that he feared a fresh incur- Galilee, &c.

sion of the evil spirits. 19.] There was 21—43.] Raising of JaSbus'b

perhaps some, reason why this man should daughter, and healing of a woman

be sent to proclaim God's mercy to his with an issue of blood. Matt. ix. 18—

friends. His example may in former 26. Luke viii. 41 — 66. The same remarks

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236 ST. MARK. V. 22—43.

was nigh unto the sea. 22 And, behold, there cometh one
of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name ; and when
he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him
* greatly y saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of
death : I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that
she may be * healed ; and she shall live. 2* And ff Jesus
went with him; and much people followed him, and

bLey.xr.M. thronged him. ^ And a certain woman, b which had an
issue of blood twelve years, 26and had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had,
and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 2? when
she had heard of Jesus, came in the h press behind, and
touched his garment. ^ For she said, If I may touch but
his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the
fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her
body that she was healed of that plague. 80 And Jesus,

cLukevLio. immediately knowing in himself that ci virtue had gone
out of him, turned him about in the ^ press, and said, Who
touched my clothes ? 81 And his disciples said unto him,
Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou,
Who touched me ? 3* And he looked round about to see
her that had done this thing. *& But the woman fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done k in her, came and
fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 3* And

*%£'&'.«. ne **& un^° nerJ Daughter, d thy faith hath made thee
whole ; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. ^ While
he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the syna-
gogue p's house] certain which said, Thy daughter is dead :
why troublest thou the Master any further ? 36 As soon

e render, much : see ver. 10. * read, healed and live.

ff in original, he. * render, the multitude, as in ver. 31.

* render, power. * read, to her. 1 not in the original.

apply to these three accounts as to the pressed to mean that she actually said it to
last. Matthew is even more concise than some one — in herself may be understood,
there, but more like an eye-witness in his At the same time, the imperfect looks very
narration (see notes on Matthew and like the minute accuracy of one reporting
Luke) :— Mark the fullest of the three, what had been an habitual saying of the
The name of the ruler of the synagogue is poor woman in her distress. 29.] On
of three syllables, with the accent on the these particulars see notes on Luke,
second, — Ja-I-rus. 21. gathered unto felt in her body, literally, knew in her
him . . . .] received him, Luke. body, elliptic— knew by feeling in her
23.] Notice the affectionate diminutive body. 32.] Peculiar to Mark, and in-
little daughter, peculiar to Mark. lieth dicative of an eye-witness. 84. j and
at the point of death answers to is even be whole of thy plague : peculiar to Mark,
note dead Matthew. 24.] St. Matthew and inexplicable, except because the Lord
adds, " and his disciples." 28.] For really spoke the words, as a solemn ratifl-
she said (was saying) perhaps need not be cation of the healing which she had as it

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VI. 1, 2. ST. MARK. 237

as Jesus m heard the word n that was spoken, he saith unto
the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and
James, and John the brother of James. 38 And he cometh
to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth ° the
tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 89 And
when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye
this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but e sleepeth. •****■».
40 And they laughed him to scorn. f But when he had put ' Actuu.«.
them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the
damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in
where the damsel was [P lying] . 41 And he took the
damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi;
which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee,
arise. *3 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked ;
for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were
astonished with a great astonishment. tt And * he charged * S^iT^il:
them straitly that no man should know it; and com- LuksVu.'
manded that something should be given her to eat.

VI. l And • he went out from thence, and came into his »*»Lukelv-
own country; and his disciples follow him. 2And when
the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the
synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished,

m read, overheard. n render, being spoken.

0 render, a. P omitted by many ancient authorities.

were surreptitiously obtained : see note So that the words are equivalent to Rise,
on Luke, ver. 48. 86.] Jesus .... my child. Peculiar to Mark. The
overheard the message (word that was) whole account is probably derived from
being spoken : a mark of accuracy which the testimony of Peter, who was present,
is lost in the A. V. 40.] How For she was of the age of twelve years is
capricious, according to modern criticism, added, as Bengel, to shew that she " re-
must this Evangelist have been, who com- turned to the state of body congruous to
piled his narrative out of Matthew and her age." 43.] betokens an eye-
Luke, adding minute particulars — in leaving witness, who relates what passed within.
out here knowing that she was dead ( Luke), St. Matthew says nothing of this, but tells
a detail to essential, if St. Mark had really what took place without, viz. the spreading
been what he is represented. Can testimony abroad of the report. Notice in the last
be stronger to the untenableness of such a ' words, that hat further recovery of strength
view, and the independence of his narra- is left to natural causes,
tion ? And yet such abound in every Chap. VI. 1—6.] Rejection op Jesus
chapter. 41.] I say unto thee is added by his cottntbymen at Nazabeth.
in the translation. The accuracy of St. Matt. xiii. 64— 68, where see notes.
Mark's reports,— not, as has been strangely 1.] went out from thenoe, not, from the
suggested, the wish to indicate that our house ofJalrus, by the expression his own
Lord did not use mystic magical language country in the corresponding clause. I
on such occasions,— often gives occasion to may go out of my own house into a neigh"
the insertion of the actual Syriac and hour's, but I do not say, I go out of my
Aramaic words spoken by the Lord : see own house into Lincolnshire : the two mem-
ch. vii. 11,34; xiv. 36. Talitha, in the bersof such a sentence must correspond: —
ordinary dialect of the people, is a word of I go out of Leicestershire into Lincolnshire
endearment addressed to a young maiden, —so, as corresponding to his own country,

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238 ST. MARK. VI.

bjohnTi.4*. saying, bFrom whence hath this man these things? and
what wisdom is this which is given nnto him, that [a even]
such mighty works are wrought by his hands ? 8 Is not

'S^LuithiB the carpenter, the son of Mary, *elAe brother of
James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon ? and are not

dM»tt.xi.«. njg gigters here with us? And they d were offended at

ejohniv.4*. him, * But Jesus said unto them, eA prophet is not
without honour, but in his own country, and among his

fieeGen.xiir. own kin, and in his own house. 5 f And he could there do
no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few

ffiMin.iix. g-ck f0y^ an(i healed them. 6 And *he marvelled because
of their unbelief.

hLukexiu.a. * And he went round about the villages, teaching.

i ob. ih. i8,H. 7 i And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send
them forth by two and two ; and gave them power over
unclean spirits ; 8 and commanded them that they should
take nothing for their journey, save a staff only ; no scrip,

kAetoziLs. no bread, no money in their purse: 9but kbe shod with

iLukex.7,». sandals ; and not put on two coats. 10 l And he said unto
them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there

mmkex.io. abide till ye depart from that place. n m And c whosoever
shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence,

a omit. D read, and the. c read, whatsoever place.

from thence must mean from that city, i. e. 6.] marvelled— this need not surprise us,
Capernaum. This against those who try on nor be construed otherwise than as a literal
this misinterpretation to ground a difference description of the Lord's mind: in the
between St. Matthew and St. Mark. mystery of his humanity, as He was com-
.3. the carpenter] This expression does not passed by human infirmity, — grew in wis-
seem to be used at random, — but to signify dom, — learned obedience, — knew not the
that the Lord had actually worked at the day nor the hour (ch. xiii. 32),--eo He
trade of his reputed father. Justin Martyr might wonder at the unbelief of His coon-
says, " For He wrought, while among men, trymen. And he went round ... see
the ordinary works of a carpenter, to wit, Matt. ix. 85.

ploughs and yokes." But on the other 7—13.] Thb sending fobth of thi

hand, Origen (carelessly ?) asserts that no- Twblvb. Matt. x. 1—15. Luke ix. 1-^6 :

where in the Gospels received in the see also Matt. ix. 36 — 38, as the introdnction

churches is Jesus Himself called a car- to this mission. The variations in the three

penter. 5.] he could there do no . . . accounts are very trifling, as we might ei-

the want of ability spoken of is not ab- pect in so solemn a discourse delivered to

solute, but relative : " not because He was all the twelve. See the notes to Matthew;

powerless, but because they were faithless." —and respecting the subsequent difference

Theophylact. The same voice, which could between Matthew (ver. 16 ff.) and Luke,—

still the tempests, could any where and those on Luke x. 7. by two and two]

under any circumstances have commanded These couples are pointed out in Matthew's

diseases to obey; but in most cases of list of the Apost]e^~not however in Mar^ii

human infirmity, it was our Lord's practice which again shews the total absence of con-

to require faith in the recipient of aid : necting design in this Gospel, such as is often

and that being wanting, the help could not assumed. 8.1 Striking instanoes occur

be given. However, from what follows, we in these verses, of the independence of the

find that in a few instances it did exist, three reports in their present form,

and the help was given accordingly. save a staff only Mark, nor yet a staff

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8—20. ST. MARK. 239

D shake off the dust under your feet for a* testimony ^ i^iS-3^.11" *x *

d against them. [e Verily I say unto you, It shall be more

tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment,

than for that city.'] 12 And they went out, and preached

that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many

devils, °and anointed with oil many that were sick, andoJ*0"*1*-

healed them. 3* And king Herod heard [f of him] ; for

his name was spread abroad : and he said, That John the

Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore S mighty

works do shew forth themselves in him. 15 * Others said, ^^"i.1*

That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet,

P1 or] as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard

thereof, he said, i It is John, whom I beheaded : he is

risen from the dead. W For Herod himself had sent forth

and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for

Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife : for he had

married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, r It is not '^g^1*1

lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19 Therefore

Herodias had a quarrel against him, and k would have

killed him; but she could not: 20 For Herod "feared ■ Matt. «!.».

John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and

tt observed him; and when he heard him, he did many

* render, to.

6 omitted in most of the ancient authorities : probably inserted herefrom Matt. x. 15.

* not expressed in the original : more probably, thereof^ as in ver. 16.

S or, the powers work mightily in him. n omit.

1 many ancient authorities read, John, whom I beheaded, is risen from
the dead. k i.e. was minded to kill him.

tt render, kept him safe.

Matthew, neither a staff Luke. See notes 15.] (He is) a prophet as one of

on Matthew, also in the next clause. 18.] the prophets ; — i. e. in their meaning, ' He

anointed with oil — this oil was not used is not The Prophet for whom all are wait-
medicinally, bnt as a vehicle of healing ing, bnt only some prophet like those who
power committed to them; — a symbol of a have gone before.' Where did oar Evan-
deeper thing than the oil itself could ac- gelist get this remarkable expression, in his
complish. That such anointing has nothing supposed compilation from Matthew and
in common with the extreme miction of Lufce ? 16.] " I (which is emphatic in
Bomanists, see proved in note on James the original) has the emphasis given by his
v. 14. See for instances of such symbolic guilty conscience." Meyer. The prin-
nse of external applications, 2 Kings v. 14 : cipal additional particulars in the following
Mark viii. 23 : John ix. 6, Ac. account of John*s imprisonment and execu-
14 — 29.] Herod heass of it. By tion are,— ver. 19, that it was Herodias
occasion, the death 07 Johv the Bap- who persecuted John, whereas Herod knew
TT8T is belated. Matt. xiv. 1—12. Luke his worth and holiness, and listened to him
ix. 7—9. (The account of John's death is with pleasure, and even complied in many
not in Luke.) Our account is, as usual, the things with his injunctions : — that the
fullest of details. See notes on Matthew. maiden went and ashed counsel of her
14.] Herod was not king properly, but only mother before making the request ; and
tetraroh : — see as above. He heard most that an executioner, one of the body

probably of the preaching of the twelve, was sent to behead John. 18.] said;

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240 ST. MARK. VI.

things, and heard him gladly. . 2l And when a convenient
t<ten.xLw. fay wag conqe^ that Herod l on his birthday made a supper to
his lords, high captains, and 1 chief estates of Galilee ; 22 and
when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced,
and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king
said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and
»R.tb.T.M: i y^n give it tnee 23 And he sware unto her, u Whatso-
ever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half
of my kingdom. 2* And she went forth, and said unto
her mother, What shall I ask ? And she said, The head
of John the Baptist. ** And she came in straightway
with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that
thou give me by and by in a m charger the head of John
the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet
for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him,
he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king
sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be
brought : and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head in a m charger, and gave it to the
damsel : and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And
when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his
corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto

Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done,

and what they had taught. 81 And he said unto them,

Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a

Tch.tii.jo. while : for v there were many coming and going, and they

1 render, chief men. m i.e. a large dish.

more than once: it was the burden of to be an original one, and of the very
John's exhortations to him. 20.] kept highest authority. Professor Bleek believed
him safe, or preserved him; not, as in that Mark has used the Gospel of John
A. V. observed him, or 'esteemed him — on account of the 200 denarii in our
highly:' — kept him in safety that he ver. 37 and John, ver. 7 : and that he gene-
should not be killed by Herodias. Whether rally compiles his narrative from Matthew
Herod heard him only at such times as and Luke, which has been elsewhere shewed
he happened to be at Macaronis, or took to be utterly untenable. I believe St. Mark's
him also to his residence at Tiberias, is to be an original full account; St. Mat-
uncertain. 21.] a convenient day, thew's a compendium of this same account,
not* a festal day, as Hammond and others but drawn up independently of St. Mark's :
interpret it,— but, a day suitable for the — St. Luke's a compendium of another ac-
purposes of Herodias: which shews that count: — St. John's an independent narrative
the dance, &c. had been all previously of his own as eye-witness. 80.1 Men-
contrived by her. tioned by Luke, not by Matthew. 31 — 84.]
80—44.] Feeding op the eive thou- One of the' most affecting descriptions in the
sand. Matt. xiv. 13 — 21. Luke ix.10— 17. Gospels, and in this form peculiar to Mark.
John vi. 1—13. This is one of the very few St. Matthew has a brief compendium of it.
points of comparison between the four Every word and clause is full of the rich
Gospels during the ministry of our Lord, recollections of one who saw, and felt the
And here again 1 believe St. Mark's report whole. Are we mistaken in tracing the

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£1— 43. ST. MARK. 241

had no leisure so much as to eat. 82 And they departed
into a desert place by ship privately. ^And the people
saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran n afoot
thither, out of all cities, and outwent them[°, and came
together unto him~\. 34wAnd P Jesus, when he came out, wm»«.ix.88.
saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward
them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd :
and he began to teach them many things. 36 And when.

* the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him,
and said, This is a desert place, and now * the time is far
passed : 36 send them away, that they may go into the
country round about, and into the villages, and rbuy
themselves bread : for they have nothing to eat. 3? He
answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And

they say unto him, iX Shall we go and buy two hundred ^i"^'^1*
pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith lT'48,
unto them, How many loaves have ye ? go and see. And
when they knew, they say, * Five, and two fishes. 89 And y JJ J*^
he commanded them to make all sit down by companies
upon the green grass. *° And they sat down in ranks, by
hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the
five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven,

* and blessed, and brake the loaves, and grave them to his n8Mn.ix.ia.

. M»tt.xxvl.

disciples to set before them ; and the two fishes divided he M-
among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
45 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments,

n render, by land. ° omit.

P the most ancient authorities read, when he Came Out he saw.

4 both expressions are the same in the original, being literally, the hour is

late, or far advanced.

r many ancient authorities read, only, buy themselves Something to eat.
8 render, Must.

warm heart of him who said, ' I will go multitudes, and this would be on his dis-
with thee to prison and to death ?' embarkation. 35.] See notes on John
31.] ye yourselves— not others; 'you alone.' vi. 8—7, and Matt. xiv. 15 — 17. The
38. afoot] perhaps better rendered Passover was near, which would account
by land. 84.J when he came out, i. e. for the multitude being on the move.
had disembarked) most probably. Meyer 37.] This verse is to me rather a decisive
would render it, « having come forth from proof that (see above) Mark had no* seen
his solitude,' in Matthew,— and 'having John's account; for how could he, having
disembarked' here: but 1 very much doubt done so, and with his love for accurate
the former. There is nothing in Matthew detail, have so generalized the particular
to imply that He had reached his place of account of Philip's question ? That gene-
solitude before the multitudes came up. ralization was in the account which he used.
John indeed, vv. 3 — 7, seems to imply this ; and the circumstance was more exactly re-
but He may very well have mounted the lated by John, as also the following one
hill or cliff from the sea before He saw the concerning Andrew. The dividing of the
Vol. I. R

Digitized by VjOOQIC

£4* ST. MARK. VI. 44—56.

and of the fishes. ** And they that did eat of the loaves
were [* about] five thousand men. ** And straightway he
constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to
the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away
the people. *° And when he had sent them away, he
departed into * a mountain to pray. 4? And when even
was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he
alone on the land. ** And he saw them toiling in rowing ;
for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the
fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking
*3JSi uP°n *k® sea> an^ v * would have passed by them. tt But
when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed
it had been w a spirit, and cried out : 50 for they all saw
him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with
them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer : it is I ; be
not afraid. 61 And he went up unto them into the ship;
and the wind ceased : and they were sore amazed in them-
b oh. yui. 17, selves beyond measure [*, and wondered]. 62 For 7* they
c ch.ui.5: xri. considered not the miracle of the haves : for their c heart was
hardened.

* omitted by all ancient authorities.

u render, the. ▼ i.e. was minded to pass by them.

w render, an apparition : literally, a phantasm.

x omitted in several ancient authorities.

J render, they understood not concerning the loaves.

Ashes, and (ver. 48) the taking up frag- would (was minded) have paaaed by them]
menu from thejlshes, are both peculiar to Peculiar to Mark. " A silent note of Inspi-
and characteristic of Mark : bnt it would ration. He was about to pass by them. He
have been most inconsistent with his pre- intended so to do. But what man could say
cision to have omitted " besides women and this ? Who knoweth the mind of Christ bat
children " in ver. 44, had he had it before the Spirit of God ? Compare 1 Cor. ii. 11"
him. Wordsw. But it may be perhaps doubted
46—52.] JE8US walks on thb sua. whether this is quite a safe or a sober com-
Matt. xiv. 22—83. John vi. 16—21. ment. would has here but a faint sub-
Omitted in Luke. Matthew and Mark are jective reference, and is well expressed by
very nearly related as far as ver. 47. John's the English phrase in the text. See on
account is altogether original, and differing Luke xxiv. 28, for the meaning. Lange well
materially in details : see notes there, and on remarks, that this « would have passed by M
Matthew. 46.] the ship, i. e. the ship and the " willingly received him " of John
in which they had come. Bethsaida— vi. 21, mutually explain one another,
this certainly seems (against Lightfoot, 50.] all saw him, and were troubled : pecu-
Wieseler, Thomson, "The Land and the liar to Mark. After this follows the history
Book," al. : see Bishop Ellicott's note, Lee- respecting Peter, which might naturally be
tures on Life of our Lord, p. 207) to have omitted here if this Gospel were drawn op
been the city of Peter and Andrew, James under his inspection— but this is at least
and John, — on the west side of the lake— doubtful in any general sense. M-]
and in the same direction as Capernaum, Peculiar to Mark. for they undentooa
mentioned by John, ver. 17. The miracle not] They did not, from the miracle which
. just related took place near the other Beth- they had seen, infer the power of the Lord
saida (Julias), —Luke ix. 10. 48. and over nature.

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VII. 1—6. ST. MAKK. 248

68 And when they had passed over, they came into the
land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. M And when
they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew
him, 56and ran through that whole region round about,
and began to carry about in *beds those that were sick,
where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he en-
tered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the
sick in the * streets, and besought him that dthey might d£jx1S.u.
touch if it were but the b border of his garment : and as
many as touched him were made whole.

VII. l Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and
certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And
when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled,
that is to say, with unwashen hands, [c they found faulty
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash
their hands doft, eat not, holding the tradition of the
elders. 4And [when they come] from the market, except
they wash, they eat not. And many other things there
be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of
cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of 6 tables. 5 Then the
Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy
disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat
bread with unwashen hands? 6He [' answered and] said
unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites,
as it is written, aThis people honoureth me with their lips, ai~.ndx.ij,

■ render, their beds.

* render, market-places, as in Matt. xx. 8, eh. xii. 88, %c.

D render, hem, as in Matt. xiv. 86. ° omitted by the majority of ancient MSS.

d see note. 6 render, Couches. * omitted by several ancient MSS.

53—56.] Matt. xiv. 34-36. The two for Gentile readers. 3.] The word oft
accounts mnch alike, hut Mark's the richer thus rendered has perplexed all the Com-
in detail : e. g. and drew to the shore, ver. mentators. Of the various renderings which
53, and the particulars given in ver. 56. have been given of it, two only seem to be
55.] to carry about implies that they admissible : (1) that given in the text, oft ;
occasionally had wrong information of His and (2) diligently, which is adopted by
being in a place, and had to carry the sick the ancient Striae version, and seems agree-
about, following the rumour of his pre- able to Hebrew usage. Between these two
sence. it is not easy to decide. 4.] wash

Chap. VII. 1—28.] Discourse con- (baptise in original) is variously under-

CSBNiNCt bating with unwashed stood,— of themselves, or the meats bought.

hands. Matt. xv. 1—20. The two re- It certainly refers to themselves ; as it

ports differ rather more than usual in their would not be any unusual practice to wash

additions to what is common, and are not so things bought in the market: — but pro-

freqoently in verbal agreement, where the bably not to washing their whole bodies :

matter is the same. 2.] See ch. ii. 16. see below. brasen vessels] earthen

A mark of particularity, that is to say, ones, when unclean, were to be broken,

with unwashen is supposed by some to be a Lev. xv. 12. These baptisms (for such

gloss, explaining denied: but the explanation is the word in the original), as applied to

seems necessary to what follows, especially couches (meaning probably here those used

R 2

Digitized by VjOOQIC

&44 ST. MARK. VII.

but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men. 8 [ff For] laying aside the commandment of God, ye
hold the tradition of men [, *■ as the washing of pots and
cups : and many other such like things ye do] . 9 And he
said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of
God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10 For Moses
b SSt^i "' 8ftid, b Honour thy father and thy mother ; and, c Whoso
0 ii^"'i.17' curseth father or mother, let him die the death : nbut ye
say, Jf a man shall say to his father or mother, iIt is
Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me ; [k he shall be free.] 12 And ye suffer him no
more to do ought for his father or his mother; 1S making
the word of God of none effect through your tradition,
which ye have delivered : and many such like things do ye.
14 And when he had l called all the people unto him, he
said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and
understand: 16 There is nothing from without a man,
that entering into him can defile him : but the things
which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16 [m if any man naVe ears to hear, let him hear.] *7 And
when he was entered into the house from the people, his
disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18And he
saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also?
Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without
entereth into the man, it cannot defile him ; 19 because it
entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth
out into the a draught, purging all meats ? 20 And he
said, That which cometh out of the man, that denleth the

ff omit. b omitted by several ancient authorities.

1 render, That wherein thou mightest have been benefited by me,
is Corban, that is to say, a gift.

fc not expressed in the original. 1 read, again called.

m omitted by several ancient authorities. n i.e. the sink, or sewer.

at meals), were certainly not immersions, from ver. 8 ; — common in Mark. 14.]

but sprinklings or affusions of water. Both St. Matthew and St. Mark notice

8.] Not contained in Matthew, but impor- that our Lord called the multitude to Him,

tant, as setting forth their depreciating of when He uttered this speech, It was espe-

God's command in comparison with human cially this, said in the hearing of both the

tradition, before their absolute violation of Pharisees and them, that gave offence to the

that command in vv. 10, 11. 9.] Full former. 17.] his disciples asked him

well— ironical — see 2 Cor. xi. 4. 10.] = "Peter answered and said " Matthew.

For Moses said = "for God commanded " 19. purging] The participle refers to

Matthew. 11.] Corban, an offering the draught (sewer). There need not be any

without a sacrifice. 12.] See note on difficulty in this additional clause : what is

Matthew, ver. 5. 13.] A repetition stated is physically true. The sewer is that

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7—81. ST. MARK. 246

man. 21 d For from within, out of the heart of men, *%!£$;*'
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 all these
evil things come from within, and defile the man.

2* And from thence he arose, and went into the borders
of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would
have no man know it : but he could not be hid. 25 °For
a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean
spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet : 26 the
woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation ; and she
besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her
daughter. 2? But P Jesus said unto her, Let the children
first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. ^ And she answered
and said unto him, Yes, Lord: ^yet the dogs under the
table eat of the children's crumbs. 29 And he said unto
her, For this saying go thy way ; the devil is gone out of
thy daughter. 3° And when she was come to her house,
she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon
the bed.

81 And again, departing from the r coasts of Tyre ■ and
Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst

0 read, But immediately. P read, he.

* render, for even. r render, borders.

B read, he came through Sidon.

wbicb, by the removal of the part carried 24.] from thence is not, from the

off, purifies the meat; the portion available land of Oennesaret (Meyer),— for ch. vi.

for nourishment being in its passage con- 65, 56, has completely removed definiteness

verted into chyle, and the remainder being from the locality ; — but refers to the (un-

cast out. 21, 22.] The heart is the specified) place of the last discourse,

laboratory and the fountain-head of all that the borders] The place must have been the

is good and bad in the inner life of man. neighbourhood of Tyre. 25.] The

St. Matthew's catalogue follows the woman had been following Him, and His

order of the second table of the decalogue.' disciple* before, Matthew. 26.] Syro-

St. Mark's more copious one varies the phenician, because there were also Idby-

order. Compare Rom. i. 29 : Eph. iv. 19 : phenician*, Carthaginians. 27. Let

Wiad. xiv. 25, 26. the children . . .] This important addition

24—80.] The Sybophbnician woman, in Mark sets forth the whole ground on

Matt. xv. 21—28. Omitted by St. Luke, which the present refusal rested. The

A striking instance of the independence of Jews were first to have the Gospel offered

the two narrations. St. Mark, who is much to them, for their acceptance or rejection

more copious in particulars, omits a con- it was not yet time for the Gentiles,

siderable and important part of the his- 28.] yet ... see on Matthew. 80.] These

tory : this would be most arbitrarily and particulars are added here. laid upon

indeed inexcusably done, if the common the bed] which the torments occasioned by

account of bis having combined and epito- the evil spirit would not allow her to be be-

mixed Matthew and Luke is to be taken. fore :— lying peacefully, as Euthymius says.
Our Lord's retirement was to avoid the Pha- 81—87.] Healing op a diap and

rises* : see notes on Matthew throughout, dumb pbbbon. Peculiar to Mark.

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246

ST. MARK.

VII. 32 — 37.

•Xatt.ix.ll.

Luke ad. 14.

fch.rtli.lS.

John is. &
g eta. vl. 41.

John xi. 41 1

zvli. 1.
ta John xi. St,

88.
1 1st. xxxt. 6,

t. Matt.xi.

6.
kch.T.48.

of the * coast* of Decapolis. 82 And • they bring unto him
one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech ;
and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. M And
he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers
into his ears, and f he spit, and touched his tongue ; s*and
* looking up to heaven, h he sighed, and saith unto him,
Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 ! And straightway his
ears were opened, and the » string of his tongue was loosed,
and he spake plain. 36 And k he charged them that they
should tell no man : but the more he charged them, so
much the more a great deal they published it ; 37 and were
beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all
things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the
dumb to speak.

VIII. l In those days the multitude being v very great,
and having nothing to eat, * Jesus called his disciples unto
him, and saith unto them, 2I have compassion on the
multitude, because they have now been with me three

t render, borders.

11 render, the fetter : i.e. that which confined it.

Y read, again great. * read, he.

A miracle which serves a moat important
purpose; that of clearly distinguishing
between the cases of the possessed and
the merely diseased or deformed. This
man was what we call ' deaf and dumb ;'
the union of which maladies is often
brought about by the inability of him
who never has heard sounds to utter them
plainly : — or, as here apparently, by some
accompanying physical infirmity of the
organs of speech. 81. ] He went first

northward (perhaps for the same reason,
of privacy, as before) through Sidon, then
crossed the Jordan, and so approached the
lake on its e. side. On Decapolis, see Matt.
iv. 25. We have the same journey related
Matt. xv. 29; and "the dumb speaking"
mentioned among the miracles, for which
the people glorified the Ctod of Israel.
38. took him aside] No reason that we
know can be assigned why our Lord should
take aside this man, and the blind man,
ch.viii. 23; but how many might there be
which we do not know, — such as some
peculiarity in the man himself, or the
persons around, which influenced His de-
termination. It is remarkable that
the same medium of conveying the mira-
culous cure is used also in ch. viii. 23.
By the symbolic use of external means,

our Lord signified the healing virtue for
afflicted human kind, which resides in and
proceeds from Him incarnate in our flesh.
He uses either his own touch,— something
from Himself, — or the cleansing element*
to which He so often compares his word.
84.] He looked to heaven in prayer :
see John xi. 41, 42. He sighed, as grievi ng
over the wreck of the nature which He
had made, occasioned by the malice of the
devil and the sin of man. Ephphatha]
the same word as that used in Isa. xxxv. 5,
" Then shall the ears of the deaf be un-
stopped, . . . and the tongue of the dumb
sing." 85.] the fetter, or the bond :

— the hindrauce,whatever it was, which pre-
vented him from speaking plainly before.
36.] See ch. i. 46. 37.] He hath

done all things welL ... So " God saw
every thing that He had made, and, be-
hold, it was very good," Gen. i. 31. This
work was properly and worthily compared
with that first one of creation — it was the
same Beneficence which prompted, and the
same Power that wrought it.

Chap. VIII. 1— 10.] Feeding op the
poue thousand. Matt. xv. 32—39. The
accounts agree almost verbatim. Mark
adds for divers of them oame from far, ver.
3, and again omits " besides women and ckil-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

VIII. 1—15. ST. MARK. 247

days, and have nothing to eat : s and if I send them away

fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way :

for divers of them came from far. 4 And his disciples

answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men

with bread here in the wilderness? 5aAnd he asked •«toh. tlh.

them, How many loaves have ye ? And they said, Seven.

6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground :

and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake,

and gave to his disciples to set before them ; and they did

set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small

fishes : and he b blessed, and commanded to set them also

before them. 8 So they did eat, and were filled : and they

took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.

9 And they [c that had eaten] were about four thousand :

and he sent them away, 10and straightway he entered

into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of

Dalmanutha. llbAnd the Pharisees came forth, and ***»▼*.»•

began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from

heaven, tempting him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his

spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a

sign? verily I say [dunto you], There shall no sign be

given unto this generation. 1S And he left them, and

entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

14 Now e the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither
had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

* render, blessed them. • omitted in several ancient authorities.

d omitted in some ancient MSS. 6 render, they forgot.

dren," Matthew, ver. 88. 10.] Matthew fuller and more circumstantial, — relating

mentions Magadan, ver. 39. Dalmanutha that they had but one loaf in the ship,

was probably a village in the neighbour- ver. 14 ; inserting the additional reproofs,

hood, — see note on Matthew, and " The Land ver. 18, and the reference to the two mira-

and the Book," p. 393 ;— a striking instance cles of feeding more at length, vv. 19—21.

of the independence of Mark : called by the St. Mark however omits the conclusion in

Harmonists " an addition to St. Matthew's Matthew, that they then understood that

narrative, to shew his independent know- He spake to them of the doctrine, %c.

lege of the fact." What very anomalous Possibly this was a conclusion drawn in

writers the Evangelists must have been \ the mind of the narrator, not altogether

11—13.] Request for a sign fbom identical with that to be drawn from our

heaven. Matt. xvi. 1—4, who gives the account here— for the leaven of Herod

account more at length : without however could not be doctrine (and of the leaven

the graphic and affectiug sighed deeply in of Herod, ver. 15 - Mark only), but must

His spirit, ver. 12. be understood of the irreligious lives and

14-21.] Warning against the fawning worldly practices of the hangers-

leaven or the Phabibees and of on of the court of Herod. 14.] The

Hebod. Matt. xvi. 5 — 12. Our account is subject to the verb forgot is the disciples

Digitized by VjOOQIC

248

ST. MARK.

VIII.

cch.rl.5S.

e ver. 8.

fob. TLB
tw.17.

ffCh.vJI.8J.

16 And they reasoned among themselves, f saying, It is
because we have no bread. 17 And when Jesus knew it,
he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no
bread? c perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye
your heart [*fe(] hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not?
and having ears, hear ye not ? and do ye not remember,
19 d when I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how
many baskets full of fragments n took ye up? They say
unto him, Twelve. 2° And e when the seven among four
thousand, how many baskets full of fragments * took ye up?
And they said, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, ^How is
it that lye do not understand ?

22 And k he cometh to Bethsaida ; and they bring a blind
man unto him, and besought him to touch him. ffl And
he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the
town; and when ghe had spit on his eyes, and put his
hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. ** And
he looked up, and said, I see men l as trees, walking.
' tome ancient authorities read, because they had no bread.

8 omit. ft render, ye took.

1 the reading probably is, Do ye not yet understand ?

k read, they come. l read, for I see them walking as trees.

unexpressed : see next verse. The leaven
of Herod here seems to answer to the
leaven of the Sadducees in Matthew. But
we must not infer from this that Herod
was a Sadducee. He certainly was a bad
and irreligious man, which would be quite
enough ground for such a caution. We
have a specimen of the morals of his court
in the history of John the Baptist's martyr-
dom. In the last not yet, ver. 21, Meyer
sees a new climax, and refers the not yet
to the moment even after the reminiscence
of vv. 18 — 20. It may doubtless be so,
and the idea would well accord with the
graphic precision of St. Mark.

22 — 26.] Healing of a blind max
at Bethsaida. Peculiar to Mark. This
appears to have been Bethsaida Julias, on
the n.e. side of the lake. Compare ver.
18. See however against the idea that
there were two Bethsaidas, "The Land
and the Book," pp. 373, f. 23.] The

leading of this blind man out of the town
appears as if it had been from some local
reason. In ver. 26 we find him forbidden
expressly to enter into or tell it in the
town, and with a repetition of town, which
looks as if the place had been somehow
unworthy of such a work being done there.
(This is a serious objection against Meyer's

reason, that the use of spittle on both
occasions occasioned the same privacy here
and in ch. vii. 33.) Or we may perhaps
find the reason m our Lord's immediate
departure to such a distance (ver. 27) ;*
and say, that He did not wish multitudes
to gather about and follow Him.
when he had spit on his eyes, and put hii
hands upon him. . .see above on eh. ?ii. S3.
We cannot say what may hire
induced our Lord to perform this miracle
at twice— certainly not the reason assigned
by Dr. Burton, "that a blind man would
not, on suddenly recovering his sight, know
one object from another, because he bad
never seen them before," and so would
require a double miracle ;— a second to
open the eyes of his mind also, to compre-
hend what he saw. This assumes the man
to have been bom blind, which he was not,
from ver. 24; for how should he know
how trees appeared f and besides, the case
of the man born blind in John ix. required
no such double healing. These things
were in the Lord's power, and He ordered
them as He pleased from present circum-
stances, or for our instruction. **•]
I fee men, for I see them walking •>
trees ; i. e. not distinct in individual pecu-
liarity, but as trees in the hedge-row mt

Digitized by VjOOQIC

16—34. ST. MARK. 249

25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and
m made him look up : and he was restored, and saw * every
man clearly. 86 And he sent him away to his house,
saying, Neither go into the town, h nor tell it to any inhJf^j}J1-4-
the town.

27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns
o"f Csesarea Philippi : and by the way he asked his dis-
ciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am ?
28 And they M answered, * John the Baptist : but some say, matt.xw.».
Elias ; and others, One of the prophets. ** And he ° saitA
unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter
answereth and saith unto him, kThou art the Christ. k jftS/1- a8:
80 And he charged them that they should tell no man of
him. 31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of
qpm must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders,
and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying
openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
33 But when he had turned about and looked on his
disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me,
Satan : for thou 00 savourest not the things that be of God,
but the things that be of men. 3* And when he had called
the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto

m many MSS. read, he saw plainly.
. n render, all things : some MSS. have, all men.

■* read, spake, saying unto him. ° read, asked.

00 •*.*. thou hast no mind for, thou thinkest not. It is the same word as
that rendered in the A. V. " set your affection on," in Col. in. 2.

by the traveller. It is a minute mark of village, no. nor so much as tell it to any

truth, that he describes the appearance of who dwelt in the village.

persons as he doubtless had often had 27—30.] Confession oe Peteb. Matt,

occasion to do during the failing of sight xvi. 13—20. Luke ix. 18—21. With the

which had ended in his blindness. By exception of the introduction in Luke, which

no possibility can the words convey three describes the Lord to have been alone

different stages of returning vision : " I praying, and joined by his disciples, —

see men. I see them standing still, and and the omission of the praise of and pro-

dimly, as trees. I see them walking." * mise to Peter by both St. Mark and St.

For thus the for is altogether passed over, Luke, the three are in exact accordance,

and walking taken out of its place, and On this latter omission no stress must

most unnaturally made into a sentence by therefore be laid as to the character of

itself. 26.1 If the marginal reading Mark's Gospel, as has been done,

were adopted, the meaning would be. He 31— IX. 1.] Announcement op His

saw plainly (the work of that instant), approaching death and besubbec-

and was thoroughly restored, and (thence- tion. Rebuke op Pbteb. Matt. xvi.

forward) saw ail tilings olearly. But the 21—28. Luke ix. 22—27. St. Luke omits

text is in mnch uncertainty. 26.] the rebuke of Peter. St. Mark adds, ver.

See above in this note,— and the various 32, he spake that saying openly: and, in

readings in my Greek Test. The neither the rebuke of Peter, that the Lord said

and nor both carry a separate climax with the words looking on his disciples. In w.

them : he was not even to go into the 34, 36, the agreement is close, except that

Digitized by VjOOQ

250 ST. MARK. VIII. 35—38.

i Matt. x. as. them, l Whosoever will come after me, let him deny him-
m johnrii.tt. geJf^ and take up his cross, and follow me. ** For m who-
soever P will save his life shall lose it ; but whosoever shall
lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, [* the same] shall
save it. 36 For what r shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own *9onl? s7 Or
■what shall a man give in exchange for his tsoulf
n Matt. x. so. 38 n Whosoever therefore ° shall be ashamed of me and of

o see Horn. i.

KilS^'1" my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him
also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in
the glory of his Father with the holy angels. IX. l And
he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be
some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of

»*■*■»»▼• death, till they have seen a the kingdom of God come with
power.

2 And after six days Jesus taketh With him Peter, and
James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high moun-
tain apart by themselves : and he was transfigured before
them. s And his raiment became shining, exceeding

bE"?:vM-.. b white r*as snowl : so as no fuller on earth can white

Mace. xXYlll. *- J '

•■ them. * And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses :

P render, is minded to. * omit.

r many ancient authorities have, doth it profit.

1 one ancient MS. has, what is an exchange for his life ? and this is
perhaps the true reading. Compare Matt. xvi. 26.

t render, life. a omitted in many ancient authorities.

St. Lake adds daily after Ms cross, and St. this sinful and adulterous generation, as

Mark and the Gospel's after my sake, ver. belonging to the precision and graphic

35 [it is perhaps worthy of remark that St. character of our Evangelist's narrative.
Mark writes follow me in ver. 34 : possibly Ch. IX. 1.1 See on Matthew,

from the information of him, to whom it was there be some ox them that stand here]

said, " What is that to thee t Follow thou Remember, our Lord was speaking to the

me," John xxi. 22] ; and informs us in ver. multitude with his disciples.
34, that our Lord said these words, having 2—13.] The Teansfigubatiost. Matt.

called the multitude with his disciples, xvii. 1— 13. Lake ix. 28— 36. Here again,

This Meyer calls a contradiction to Matthew while St. Matthew and St. Mark's accounts

and Luxe, — and thinks it arose from a mis- seem to have one and the same source, they

understanding of St. Luke's " he said to have deflected from it, and additional par-

them all." Far rather should I say that our ticulars have found their way into our text,

account represents every detail to the life, St. Luke's account is from a different source.

and that the " to them all " contains traces If we might conjecture, Peter has fur-

of it. What wonder that a crowd should nished the accounts in Matthew and Mark :

here, as every where else, have collected —this latter being retouched, — perhaps by

about Him and the disciples? 38.] himself: while that of Luke may have had

St. Mark and St. Luke here agree : and St. another origin. The additional partieu-

Matthew, ver. 27, bears traces of this verse, lars in our text are, — the very graphic and

having apparently abridged it in transcribing noble description in ver. 3, and the detail

his report, not to repeat what he had before in ver. 6. St. Mark omits " in whom 1

said, in ch. x. 33. On adulterous, see am well pleased," Matthew, ver. 6. 3.]

Matt. xii. 39, and observe the addition, in became is of itself a graphic touch, bring-

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

IX. 1—14. ST. MARK. 251

and they were talking with Jesus. 6 And Peter an-
swered and said to Jesus, b Master, it is good for us to be
here : and let us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and
one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6 For he wist not what
to ° say : for they were sore afraid. 7 And there was a
cloud that overshadowed them : and a voice came out of *
the cloud, [d saying,] This is my beloved . Son : hear him.

8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they
saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged
them that they should tell no man what things they had
seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10 And
they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one
with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes c that «iw.iT.i.
Elias must first come ? l% And he [dd answered and] told
them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things;
and d how • it is -written of the Son of man. that he must *?»•»«•••
suffer many things, and ebe set at nought. 18 But I say Jj- DnAx-
unto you, That f Elias is indeed come, and they have done e ii^pwui.
unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. '^Sht";
14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great

D render, Rabbi. ° read, answer.

* omitted in most of the ancient authorities. dd omit.

• render, is it : placing a note of interrogation at the end of the verse.

ing out tbe glistening of each separate Elias must first come 1 Our Lord answers -

portion of his clothing. 8. no man it by telling them that it is even so ; and

any more] i. e. none of those who ap- returns the question by another : And how

peered, but {'nay, on the contrary') Jesus is it (also) written of the Bon of Man,

alone. 9 — 11.] Two remarkable addi- that he, Ac. ? Then comes the conclusion

tions occur in our text;— ver. 10, which in ver. 13 with But I say onto you,

indicates apostolic authority, and that of stating that Elias has come, and leaving

one of the Three;— and the last clause of it therefore to be inferred that the suffer-

ver. 12. what the rising from the ings of the Son of Man were close at

dead should mean does not refer to the hand. Notice how the it is written of,

Resurrection generally, for it was an twice occurring, binds both together. Just

article of Jewish belief, and connected with as the first coming of the Son of Man is. to

the times of the Messiah ; but to Hie suffer and to die, so has the first coming

Resurrection as connected with his Death; of Elias been as it was written of him;

the whole was enigmatical to them. but there is a future coming of Elias to

12.] Meyer and others render, and how is restore all things, and of the Son of Man

it written of the Son of Man 1 That he in glory. See further in notes on Matthew,
must, Ac., making this last clause the 11—29.] Healing of a possessed

answer to the question. But not to men- lunatic. Matt. xvii. 14—21. Luke ix.

tion that such a sentence would be without 37—42. The account of St. Mark is by far

example in our Lord's discourses, the sense the most copious : and here, which is very

given by it is meagre in the extreme. As rarely the case in the official life of our

it stands in the text, it forms a counter* Lord, the three accounts appear to have

question to that of the Apostles in ver. 11. been originally different and independent.

They asked Why say the scribes that The descent from 'the mountain was on the

Digitized by VjQOQIC

25* ST. MARK. IX.

multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with
them. 15 And straightway all the people, when they
beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him
saluted him. lfl And he asked * tie scribes, What question
ye with them ? 17 And one of the multitude answered
" and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which
hath a dumb spirit ; 18 and wheresoever he taketh him, he
teareth him : and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth,
and ff pineth away : and I spake to thy disciples that they
should cast him out; and they could not. 19 He an-
swereth ffff Aim, and saith, O faithless generation, how long
shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ? bring
him unto me. %° And they brought him unto him : and
(ch.i.tt. b*wien ie saw iim, straigitway tie spirit tare iimj and
he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he
asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto
him ? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath
cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him :
but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us,

* read, them. tf or, unto him.

% or, becometh rigid. n read, them.

h render, when the spirit saw him, straightway it tare him.

day following the transfiguration, Luke, 18.1 The words rendered pineth away may
ver. 37. 14.] The scribes were pro- perhaps mean becomes dry or stiff,
bably boasting over the disciples, and rea- 10.] 0 faithless generation, not addressed
soning from their inability to that of their to the man, as unbelieving,— nor to the dis-
Master aUo. As Stier remarks, there ciples,— but generally, to the race and
is hardly such another contrast to be generation among whom the Lord's minis-
found in the Gospel as this, between the try was fulfilled. The additional words "and
open heaven and the sons of glory on the perverse " (Matthew, Luke) are probably
mount, and the valley of tears with its from Deut. xxxii. 5 ; see further ib. ver. 20,
terrible forms of misery and pain and un- where "faithless" is also expressed by
belief. I have already in the notes to Mat- " children in whom is no faith" The
thew spoken of the noble use made of this question is not asked in a spirit of longing
contrast in the last and grandest picture to be gone from them, but of holy iin-
of the greatest of painters— the Trans- patience of their hardness of heart and
figuration of Raffaelle. 15.] The Lord's unbelief. In this the father, disciples,
countenance probably retained traces of Scribes, and multitude are equally in-
the glory on the mount; so strong words volved. "The kingdom of Satan, in
as were greatly amazed would hardly small and great, is ever stirred into a
have been used merely pf their surprise fiercer activity by the coming near of the
at His sudden approach :* see Exod. xxxiv. kingdom of Christ. Satan has great
29, 30. Thatm brightness, however, terri- wrath, when his time is short" (Trench,
fled the people : this attracts them : see Mir. 365). Vv. 21 — 27 are peculiar to
2 Cor. Hi. 7—18. 16.] them (first Mark. 21.] The Lord takes occasion
time), i. e. * the multitude,' regarding the to enquire thus of the father, to bring
Scribes as a part of the multitude. One in the trial of his faith. 22.] See
of the multitude answers. 17.] onto Matthew, ver. 15. if thou canst do any
thee — i. e. intended to do so, not being thing] This bespeaks, if any faith, at most
aware of His absence. From Luke, ver. 38, but a very ignorant and weak one.
we learn that this was his only son. us — the wretched father counts his child's
dumb, i. e. causing deafness and dumbness, misery his own : thus the Syrophenician
and fits of epilepsy ; see Luke xi. 14. woman, Matt. xv. 26, help me.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

15—29.

ST. MARK.

253

and help us. w Jesus said unto him, h If thou canst h £VeL"u .e
P believe,] all things are possible to him that believeth. Jo,mx,•40•
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and
said [iwitk tear*,'] [* Lord,'] I believe; help thou mine
unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running m
together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him,
Thou dumb* and deaf spirit, *I charge thee, come out of
him, and enter no more into him. M And the spirit cried,
and rent him sore, and came out of him : and he was as
one dead ; insomuch that m many said, He is dead. 27 But
Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up ; and he
arose. ** And when he was come into the house, his
disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him
out ? & And he said unto them, This kind can come forth
by nothing, but by prayer [mm and fasting.']

* omitted in many ancient authorities. See note.

J omit, with nearly all ancient MSS. * omit.

* the I is emphatic. m literally, the many, i.e. most of those present.
mm omitted by our two oldest MSS. See on 1 Cor. vii. 5.

28.] The most probable rendering of the ori-
ginal here is, Jesus said to him the saying,
"If thou canst believe, all things are,"&c. :
a saying which doubtless He often ottered
on similar occasions. Some, omitting the
believe, would set an interrogation after
oanst, and suppose our Lord to be citing
the Father's words : " didst thou say,
'If thou canst V— all things are," Ac
Others, as Dr. Barton, suppose it to mean :
— 'Believe what you have expressed by
your if thou oanst/ &c. But both these
renderings involve methods of construction
and expression not usual in the Gospels.
The if thou oanst believe is a manifest
reference to the if thou oanst do any
thing before, and meant to convey a re-
proof, as the father's answer testifies.
The sentence, also, unless I am mistaken,
is meant to convey an intimation that the
healing was not to be an answer to that
challenge, so that the Lord's power was to
be challenged and proved, — but an answer
to faith, which (of course bv laying hold
on Him who is Almighty) can do all
things. . 24.] Nothing can be more
touching and living than this whole most
masterly and wonderful narrative. The
poor father is drawn out into a sense of
the unwortbiness of his distrust, and " the
littlo spark of faith which is kindled in
his soul reveals to him the abysmal deeps
of unbelief which are there." (Trench,
p. 367.) ** Thus," remarks Olshausen (B.
Comm. i. 634), " does the Redeemer shew

himself to the father as a Creator and
bringer out of faith first, before He heals
his son. In the struggle of his anxiety,
the strength of Faith is born, by the aid
of Christ, in the soul empty of it before."
• There is strong analogy in the Lord's
treatment of the father here, for the spon-
sorial engagement in infant baptism. The
child is by its infirmity incapacitated;
it is therefore the father's faith which is
tested ; and when that is proved, the child
is healed. The fact is, that the analogy
rests far deeper : viz. on the ' inclusion '
of ' the old man ' in Adam and the ' new
man ' in Christ : see Rom. v. 12—21.
26.] This took place at a distance
from the crowd, among those who had
run forward to meet our Lord, ver. 15.
I charge thee] The personal pro-
noun is emphatic, as opposed to the want
of power on the part of the disciples. This
is the only place where we have such a
charge as enter no more into him,— shew-
ing the excessive malignity and tenacity
of this kind (see ver. 29) of spirit. This is
also shewn by ver. 26. 27.] See ch.

v. 41 ; also Matt. xvii. 6, 8 : Rev. i. 17 :
Dan. x. 9, 10. 29.] The answer is given
more at length in Matthew, ver. 20, and
the Lord there distinctly includes the dis-
ciples in the faithless generation, by tell-
ing them " Because of your unbelief."
The assurance also occurs there, which was
repeated Matt. xxi. 21, where see notes.
This kind] That there are kinds,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

254 ST. MARK. IX.

80 And they departed thence, and passed through Ga-
lilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
81 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The
Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they
shall kill him ; and after that he is killed, he shall rise
n the third day. 32 But they understood not that saying,
and were afraid to ask him.

88 And nn he came to Capernaum : and being in the house
he asked them, What was it that ye disputed [° among your-
selves] by the way ? 3* But they held their peace : for by
mk.nii.t4. the way they had l disputed among themselves, who
[00 should be] thp greatest. 85 And he sat down, and

k«7.*cL"'S called the twelve, and saith unto them, k If any man desire
to be first, the same shall be last of all, and P servant of all.

ieh.x.n 36 And ! he took a child, and set him in the midst of them :
and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto
them, 87 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in

mM*tt.x.«o. my name, receiveth me : and m whosoever shall receive me,

n Nam. xi.M.v receive th not me, but him that sent me. M n And John
answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out

n read, after three days. nn some very ancient authorities have, they Came.

0 omit. 00 or, was : not expressed in the original. ,

P render, ministering servant. .

more and less malicious, of evil spirits,' we selves referred the question to our Lord, and
find from Matt. xii. 46 — and the per- He took the child, &c. Who can forbear see-
tinacity and cruelty of this one shewed ing in these narratives the unfettered and
him to belong to the worst kind. The independent testimony of three witnesses.
Lord's saying here is rather for their after consistent with one another in the high-
guidance, than their present; for they est form and spirit of truthfulness," but
could not fast while ±te was with them, differing in the mere letter P St. Mark's
ch. ii. account is again the richest and fullest, and

80—82.] Second announcement op we can hardly doubt that if the literal

His death and resurrection. Matt, exact detail of fact is in question, we

xvii. 22,23. Luke ix. 43 —46, where see have it here. 33.] Between the com -

notes, as this account is included in the ing to Capernaum, and this discourse, hap-

two others. pened the demand of the tribute-money,

88 - 50.] Discourse respecting the Mt. xvii. 20—27. 34.] There is no

greatest among them. Matt, xviii. 1—9. real difference in the matter in question

Luke ix. 46—50. Here again the three here (and in Luke), and in Matthew. The

accounts are independent, and differ in kingdom of heaven was looked on as about

some particulars unimportant in them- soon to appear: and their relative rank

selves, but very instructive for a right now would be assumed as their relative

comparison of the three Gospels. First rank then. The difference in the expres-

take St. Luke's account.— The disciples had sion of this is a mark of independence and

been disputing ;— our Lord knowing the authority. 35.] See Matt. xx. 26, and

strife of their hearts, took a child, &c. : — note. 86. taken him in his arms]

then compare St. Mark — our Lord asked This particular we learn from Mark.

them, on coming into a house, what had 87.] See Matt. x. 40. 88.] Only found

been the subject of their dispute ; — Ihey besides in Luke, w. 40, 50. Notice

were silent from shame ; —He sat down, the repetition of he followeth not us as

delivered his sentence to the twelve, — and characteristic of Mark. The connexion of

then took the child, Ac.— Lastly turn to this remark with what goes before, is : ' If

St. Matthew. There, the disciples them- the receiving any one, even a little child.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

30—43.

ST. MARK.

255

piNNittxU.

SO.
qM»tt.x.tt.

devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we
forbad him, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus
said, Forbid him not : ° for there is no man which shall do
a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For p he that is not against us is on °* our part. 41 * For
whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink r in my
name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you,
he shall not lose his reward. 42 And whosoever shall
offend one of [» these'] little ones that [} believe in me], it
is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and he were cast into the sea. tt * And if thy hand
offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into

4 many old authorities read, VOU and your.
r read, by reason that : §ee note,

• omitted by tome ancient authorities : in that case supply the.

* this is variously read : some ancient authorities have believe only ; others,
have faith, which is most likely right.

rDratilU.t.
Matt.T. »:

in thy Name, be receiving Thee; were we
doing right when we forbade one who
used thy Name, but did not follow us ?'
"Let those observe this," says Bengel,
" who bind on spiritual gifts to canonical
succession." This man actually did what
the very Apostles themselves were specially
appointed to do: and our Lord, so far
from prohibiting, encourages him; see
Num. xi. 26—29. 39.] See 1 Cor.

xii. 3. The very, success of the miracle
will awe him, and prevent him from soon
or lightly speaking evil of me. We

must beware of supposing that the applica-
cation of this saying is to be confined to the
working of a miracle — ver. 40 shews that
it is general— a weighty maxim of Chris-
tian toleration and charity, and caution to
men how they presume to limit the work
of the Spirit of God to any sect, or sue-
cession, or outward form of Church ; com-
pare PhiL i. 16—18. 40.] This say-
ing is not inconsistent with that in Matt,
xii. 30. They do not refer to the same
thing. This is said of outward con-
formity— that, of inward unity of pur-
pose— two widely differing things. On
that saying, see note there. On this, we
may say— all those who, notwithstanding
outward differences of communion and
government, believe in and preach Jesus
Christ, without bitterly and uncharitably
opposing each other, are hereby declared
to be helpers forward of each other's
work. O that all Christians would re-
member this! Stier (Red. J. iii. 24)
strongly deprecates the reading us and
our : " the us in the mouth of our Lord
here confuses and destroys nearly the whole

purport of his weighty saving. For this
is the very fault of the disciples, that they
laid down outward and visible communion
with them as the decisive criterion of com-
munion with the Lord: and this very
fault the Lord rebukes with his repu-
diatory you." Still, there is a propriety,
a tempering the rebuke with a gracious
reminiscence of their unity with Him, and
something exceedingly suiting the belong
to Christ below, in us and our. In the
divided state of the critical evidence, the
reading must be ever doubtful. 4L]

This verse does not take up the discourse
from ver. 87, as some think, but is imme-
diately connected with ver. 40:— * Even
the' smallest service done in my Name
shall not be unrewarded— much more
should not so great an one as casting out
of devils be prohibited.' The original

has in the name that : i. e, by reason that,
but not without an allusion to my name,
which furnishes the reason,
ye belong to Christ] The only place in the
Gospels where this expression is used. St
Paul has it; see reff. and Rom. viii. 9:
1 Cor. iii. 4. 42.] See Matt, xviii. 6.

43—48.] These solemn repetitions
of former declarations (see Matt. v. 29;
xviii. 8, 9) are by no means to be regarded
as arbitrary insertions by this or that
Evangelist, but as the truth of what was
uttered by our Lord. Vv. 44, 46,

48 are only in Mark ; they are cited from
Isaiah (see reff.), where the prophecy is of
the carcases of those who hare trans-
gressed against the Lord. This triple
repetition gives sublimity, and leaves no
doubt of the discourse having been ver-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

256

ST. MARK.

IX. 44—50.

life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into

■ iM.ixvi.24. the fire that never shall be quenched: ***■ where their

worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. tt And if

thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter

halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell,

[v into the fire that never shall be quenched :] ** » where

their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And

if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out : it is better for thee

to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than

having two eyes to be cast into hell [wfire] : *8 where

t Le». u. w. their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. ^ For

it*'*"11, every one shall be salted with fire, tand every sacrifice

uMatt. t. 18 J 'J

v eS"iv! w?4, shaU ** salted with salt. 50 u Salt is good : but if the salt
w rL^ui have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it ? T Have
Jcor.^jiLii. salt in yourselves, and w have peace one with another.

XL verses 44 and 46 are omitted by many ancient authorities : probably, as not occur*
ring in Matt. v. 29, 80.

v omitted by many ancient authorities : see on ver. 44.
W omitted by several ancient authorities.

batim thus uttered. See note on Matt.
v. 22. 49.] In order to understand
this difficult verse, it will be necessary first
to examine its connexion and composition.
(1) What is for 1 It connects it with the
solemn assertions in vv. 48—48, it is bettor
for thee . . . , and furnishes a reason why it
is better for us to cut off and cast away, &c.
every one then is to be taken abso-
lutely: referring back both to the thee,
and the their above— every sacrifice is
(not opposed to [Meyer], but) parallel
with every one, and and equivalent to just
as. (2) This being stated, let us now en-
quire into the symbolic terms used. Fire,
is the refiner's fire of Mai. iii. 2, to which
indeed there seems to be a reference ; the
fire of Matt. iii. 11 and Acts ii. 3; of
Ezek. xxviii. 14 (see my Hulsean Lectures
for 1841, pp 9—12). Fire is the symbol
of the divine purity and presence:— out
God is a consuming fire, not only to his
foes, but to his people : but in them, the
fire shall burn up only what is impure and
requires purifying out, 1 Cor. iii. 13 :
1 Pet. i. 7; iv. 12, 17. This very fire
shall be to them as a preserving salt.
The salt of the covenant of God (Lev.
ii. 13) was to be mixed with every sacri-
fice ; and it is with fire that all men are to
be salted. This fire is tbe divine parity
and judgment in the covenant, whose pro-
mise is, « I will dwell among them.' And
in and among this purifying fire shall the
people of God ever walk and rejoice ever-
lastingly. Rev. xxi. 23. This is the right

understanding of Isa. xxxiii. 14, 15, ' Who
among us shall dwell with the devouring
fire ? &c. He that walketh in righteous-
ness,' &c. And thus the connexion with
the preceding verses is,— 'it is better for
thee to cut off,' &c. — • for it is part of the
salting of thee, the living sacrifice (Rom.
xii. 1), that every offence and scandal
must be burnt out of thee before thou
canst enter into life.' It is perhaps neces-
sary to add that this is simply the ex-
planation of our Lord's words as they
stand, in their symbolism and connexion.
When Mr. Elliott objects to it as a ■ fear-
ful comment,' he has to do with those
words, not with me. Surely, nothing but
the most amazing power of misunder-
standing can suppose the explanation in-
consistent with such texts as Rom. viiL.
1, 34 : 1 John ii. 1, 2. 50.1 The con-

nexion of this (elsewhere said in other
references, Matt. v. 13 : Luke xiv. 34) is
now plain. If this fire which is to purify
and act as a preserving salt to you, have,
from the nullity and vapidity of the grace
of the covenant in you, no such power, — it
can only consume— the salt has lost its
savour — the covenant is void — you will be
cast out, as it is elsewhere added, and tho
fire will be no longer the fire of purifica-
tion, but of wrath eternal. I will
just add that the interpretation of the
sacrifice as the condemned— and the fire
and salt as eternal fire, — except in the
case of the salt having lost its savour, is
contrary to the whole symbolism of Scrip-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

X. 1—12, . ST. MARK. 257

X. l And *he arose from thence, and cometh into the*™1"*-40'
* coasts of Judsea " by the farther side of Jordan : and 7 the
people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he
taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him,
and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his
wife ? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto
them, What did Moses command you ? 4 And they said,
b Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put bSSSl"*i*.1"
her away. 5 And Jesus \TJ answered and] said unto them,
For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
6 But from the beginning of the creation lcGod made0^"*-*7'
them male and female. 7* For this cause shall a man <»q«.«.m-

1 Cor. vl. lC

leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8and B»h-V-W-
they twain shall be one flesh : so then they are no more
twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house
his disciples asked him again of the same matter. n And
he saith unto them, e Whosoever shall put away his wife, •JgJ-.JifV
and marry another, committeth adultery against her. }1CorTU10»
12 And if a a woman shall put away her husband, and be .
married to another, she committeth adultery.

x render, borders. " read, and. 7 render, multitudes.

77 omit. * some ancient authorities read, he made them.

a several ancient authorities have, she.

ture, and to the exhortation with which reports — for such an arbitrary alteration

this verse ends : ' Have this grace of God of arrangement is inconceivable. 4.]

— this spirit of adoption -this pledge of suffered is emphatic. Moses gave an ex-

the covenant, in yourselves ; — and,' with press permissory injunction. 7.] Our

reference to the strife out of which the Lord makes Adam s saying His own : in

discourse sprung, — * have peace with one Matthew it is attributed to " him that made

another/ (them) from the beginning" The parallel

Chap. X. 1 — 12.] Reply to the Pha- is most instructive. 10 — 12.] In Mat-

hisses' question €ONCEHhing divorce, thew this saying forms part of the dis-

Matt. xix. 1 — 12. See Luke xvii. 11. course with the Jews. Here again Mark

1. and the further side] Our Lord retired, furnishes us with the exact circumstantial

after His discourses to the Jews in John x. account of the matter. On the addition,

and before the raising of Lazarus, to Matthew *w. 10 — 12, see notes there.

Bethany (John i. 28; x. 40) beyond Jordan, We may notice, that St. Mark omits St.

and thence made his last journey to Jeru- Matthew's "for every cav se" in ver. 2, — and

salem ; so that in the strictest sense of the his "except for fornication" in ver. 11 ; as

words He did come into the borders of also does St. Luke (xvi. 18). The one

Judsea and beyond Jordan. St. Matthew omission seems to involve the other. The

has " beyond Jordan" without the copula, report here gives the enquiry without this

Here a large portion of the sayings and particular exception. As a general rule, St.

doings of Jesus is omitted : compare Matt. Mark, so accurate in circumstantial details,

xviii. 10 ; xix. 3 : Luke ix. 51 — xviii. 15 : is less exact tlian St. Matthew in preserving

John vii. 1 ff. 2 — 0.] See notes on Mat- the order and connexion of the discourses,
thew, with whose account ours is nearly 12.] This verse corresponds to

identical. Compare however our vv. 3, " whoso marrieth her that is put away com-

4, 5 with Matthew vv. 7, 8, 9, and we have mitteth adultery " in Matthew, ver 9 —

testimony to the independence of the two but it is expressed as if the woman were
Vol. I. S

Digitized by VjOOQIC

ass

ST. MARK.

13 And they brought young children to him, that he
should touch them : and his disciples rebuked those that
brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much
displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the
kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he
shall not enter therein. 16 And he took them up in his
arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

the active party, and put away her hus-
band, which was allowed by Greek and
Roman law (see 1 Cor. vii. 13), but not by
Jewish (see Deut. xxiv. 1 : Jos. Antt. xv.
7. 10). This alteration in the verbal ex-
pression may have originated in the source
whence Mark's report was drawn.

18—16.] Thb bringing op children
to Jesus. Matt. xix. 13-15. Luke xviii.
15 — 17. The three are nearly identical:
— from Matthew, we have the additional
reason " and pray," and from Mark,- " he
took them up in -hie arms." 13.

young children] Not only so, but as in
Luke, infants: and our Lord was not to
teach them, but only to touch, and pray
over them. This simple, seemingly super-
stitions application of those that brought
them (perhaps not the mothers only) the
disciples, interrupted in their converse on
high and important subjects, despise and
reprove. 14.] We can hardly read

our Lord's solemn saying, without seeing
that it reaches further than the mere then
present occasion. It might one day

become a question whether the new Chris-
tian covenant of repentance and faith
could take in the unconscious infant, as
the old covenant did : whether, when Jesus
was no longer on earth, little children
might be brought to Him, dedicated to
his service, and made partakers of his
blessing. Nay, in the pride of the human
intellect, this question was sure one day
to be raised : and our Lord furnishes the
Church, by anticipation, with an answer
to it for all ages. Not only may the little
infants be brought to Him, — but in order
for us who are mature to come to Him,
we must cast away all that wherein our
maturity has caused us to differ from
them, and become like them. Not only
is Infant Baptism justified, but it is
(abstractedly considered; — not as to pre-
paration for it, which from the nature of
the case is precluded) the normal pat-
teen of all baptism; none can enter
God's kingdom, except as an infant. In
adult baptism, the exceptional case (see

above), we strive to secure that state of
simplicity and childlikeness, which in the
infant we have ready and undoubted to
our hands. 18. J The word may be

rendered he fervently blessed them.

17—81.] Answer to an enquirer
respecting eternal lipe, and dis-
COURSE thereupon. Matt. xix. 16—80.
Luke xviii. 18 — 30. On the different form
of oui* Lord's answer in Matthew, see notes
there. As it here stands, so far from
giving any countenance to Socinian error,
it is a pointed rebuke of the very view of
Christ which they who deny His Divinity
entertain. , He was no 'good Master/ to
be singled out from men on account of
His pre-eminence over his kind in virtue
and wisdom : God sent us no such Christ
as this, nor may any of the sons of men
be thus called good. He was one with
Him who only is good, the Son of the
Father, come not to teach us merely, but
to beget us anew by the divine power
which dwells in Him. The low view then,
which this applicant takes of Him and
his office, He at once rebukes and annuls,
as He had done before in the case of Nico-
demus : see John iii. 1 ff. and notes.
The dilemma, as regards the Socinians,
has been well put (see Stier ii. 283, note) :
— either, "There is none good but God:
Christ is good : therefore Christ is God £'
—or, "There is none good but God:
Christ is not God; therefore Christ is
not good." With regard to other

points the variations in the narratives
are trifling, but instructive — " if thou wilt
enter into Ufe, keep the commandments.
He saith unto Him, which ? " (Matthew) r=
" thou Jcnowest the commandments " (Mark
and Luke) without any break in the dis-
course. Similarly, in Matthew, the young
(Matthew) ruler (Luke) asks, ver. 20, "what
lack I yet ?" but in Mark and Luke,
Jesus says to him (and here with the
remarkable addition of "beholding him,
loved him*') "one thing thou inckest." Such
notices as these shew the point at which,
not short of which nor beyond which, we

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18^-27. ST. MARK. 259

!7 And when he was ^gone forth into the way, there
came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him,
Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life ? l8 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me
good ? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou
knowest the commandments, fDo not commit adultery, f^^lia
Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,
Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 2° And he
answered and said unto him, Master, all these things have
I observed from my youth. 2l Then Jesus beholding him
loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest : go
thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor,
and thou shalt have g treasure in heaven : and come, take » *■**• ¥i- 19»
up the cross, and follow me. 23 And he was sad at that
saying, and went away grieved : for he, had great pos-
sessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith
unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God ! ** And the disciples were
astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and
saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them h that * gju1,^»
trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God ! 25 It is * Tlm- v1, 17*
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 2fl And
they were astonished out of measure, saying among them-
selves, Who then can be saved ? 2? And Jesus looking
upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not ! with * ^Sfffe.17"

b render, going.

may expect the Evangelists to be in ac- here. 22.] for he had great possessions

cord : viz. in that inner truthfulness of —so also St. Matthew. 28—31.] Here

faithful report which reflects to us the our ver. 24 is a most important addition ;

teaching of the Lord, but does not depend the rest is much alike in the three. In

on slavish, literal exactitude ; which latter that verse we have all misunderstanding

if we require, we overthrow their testi- of our Lord's saying removed, and " the

mony, and most effectually do the work proverb," as Wesley well observes, " shifted

of our adversaries. 17.J into the way, to this ground : * It is easier for a camel,

out of the house, ver. 10, to continue His &c. than for a rich man to cast off his

journey, ver. 82. The running and the trust in his riches/ " Yet the power of

kneeling are both found in the graphic divine grace can and does accomplish even

St. Mark only. 19.] St. Mark here takes this. 24.] Children, is remarkable, and

exactly the commandments of the second a trace of exactitude : see John xxi. 5 : —

table,— defraud not standing for the tenth, so also looked round about, ver. 23. .

St. Matthew adds their summary (" thou 26.] This reiterated expression of dismay,

shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"), omit- after the explanation in ver. 24, need not

ting (with St. Luke) "defraud not" per- surprise us. The disciples were quite as

haps on account of " do not steal " having well aware as we must be, if we deal truly

gone before. 21.] Notice the graphic with ourselves, that they that have riches

details again, of looking on him and loving and they that trust in riches are too

him, » take up the cross is added nearly commensurate, for the mind to be

S 2

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260

ST. MARK.

kch.Tlll.81j
lz.U.

God : for with God all things are possible. M Then Peter
began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have
followed thee. 29 And Jesus [*D answered and] said, Verily I
say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, 3° but he
shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions ; and in the world to come eternal life.
81 But many that are first shall be last ; and the last first.

32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem ;
and Jesus went before them : and they were amazed ; and
as they followed, they were afraid. k And he took again
the twelve, and began to tell them what things should
happen unto him, 83 saying, Behold, we go up to Jeru-
salem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the
chief priests, and unto the scribes ; and they shall condemn

bb omit.

relieved of much of its dread at tbe solemn
saying which preceded. 28.] Here is

an instance of a saying of Peter's reported,
without any distinction indicating that
he had a share in the report. See notes
on Matthew, for the promise here made
to the Apostles. 29, SO.] Here our

report is most important. To it and St.
Luke we owe now in this time, without
which the promise might be understood of a
future life only .—and to it alone we owe
the particularizing of the returns made,
and the words with persecutions, which
light up the whole passage, and shew that
it is the inheritance of the earth in the
higher tense by the meek which is spoken
of ;— see 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22. Observe

mothers— nature gives us only one — but
love, many (see Bom. xvi. 13). We do
not read fathers, perhaps "because of our
high and absorbing relation to our Father
in heaven; compare Matt, xxiii. &. On
and the gospel's, Dr. Wordsworth observes,
«' see above, viii. 85, where this phrase (not
found in the other Evangelists, see Matt,
xvi. 25 : Luke ix. 24) is inserted by St.
Mark. Perhaps it made a greater im-
pression upon his mind, because he had
formerly shrunk from suffering for the
Gospel* s sake. (See Acts xiii. 13 ; xv. 38.)
St. Mark also alone here inserts our Lord's
words, with persecutions, perhaps from a
recollection that he had been once af-
frighted by persecution from doing the
work of the Gospel : and desiring^ to pre-
pare others to encounter trials which for a

time had mastered himself." Here

follows in Matthew the parable of the
Labourers in the vineyard, ch. xx. 1—16.
82 — 34.] Fuller declaration of

HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. Matt. XX.

17—19. Luke xviii. 31—34. [The re-
markable particulars of ver. 32 are only
found here.] This was (see Matt. xvi.

21 ; xvii. 22) the third declaration of His
sufferings which the Lord had made to the
disciples, and it was His going before them,
accompanied most probably by something
remarkable in his gait and manner — a
boldness and determination perhaps, an
eagerness, denoted in Luke xii. 50, which
struck them with astonishment and fear.
"Though very little is said in the
Gospels concerning our Lord's external
appearance and deportment, there are fre-
quent indications of its effects on others.
We do not see His glory in itself, — it
could not be described, — but we read the
reflection of it in them. See Matt. ix. 9,
the call of St. Matthew: Matt. xxi. 12,
the purging of the temple : Mark ix. 15,
the feeling and behaviour of the crowd
towards Him after the Transfiguration.
The climax is at the betrayal, John xviii.
6, when, after His utterance of those
words — 'I am he,' — the soldiers start
back, and fall to the ground." Dr. Words-
worth. 82.] began, anew : He again
opened this subject. 33.] The cir-
cumstances of the passion are brought out
in all three Evangelists with great par-
ticularity. The * delivery to the Gentiles'

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28-45. J3T. MARK. 261

him to deatK, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles : 3* and

they c shall mock him, and ° shall scourge him, and shall spit

upon him, and shall kill him : and co the third day he shall

rise again. 85 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee,

come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou

shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. 86 And he

said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you ?

87 They said unto him, Grant unto us, that we may sit,

one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in

thy glory. & But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what

ye ask : can ye drink of the cup that I drink of ? d and

be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

89 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto

them, Ye shall [d* indeed] drink of the cup that I drink of;

and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye

be baptized : 4° but to sit on my right • and on my left

hand is not mine to give ; but [•• it shall be given to them]

for whom it is prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it,

they began to be much displeased with James and John.

42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, l Ye i L«ke «h.

know that they which are accounted to rule over the

Gentiles exercise lordship over them ; and their great ones

exercise authority *upon them. 48>m But so ^ shall it not be mcfa.ix.as.

among you : but whosoever will be great among you shall

be your minister: 4* and whosoever of you will be the

% chiefest, shall be servant of all. « For * even n the Son of* Jgff££14-

0 nearly all our most ancient MSS. have these transposed,
00 read, after three days. d read, or. ** omit. • read, or.

ee not expressed in the original. ' render, Over. " read, it is not.

ff literally, first. h- render, the Son of man also.

is common to them all. 84.] spit if the one had actually before him the
upon him, Mark and Luke : — crucify him, writing of the other. Besides, we have
Matthew only, which is remarkable, as being the whole additional particulars of the
the first intimation, in plain terms, of the baptism, with which He was to be bap-
death He should die. The taking up the tized : see note on Matthew. 38.] Ob-
cross, so often alluded to, might have had serve the present tenses, drink ot, and am
now for them a deep meaning— but see baptised with. They may mean that the
Luke ver. 34. The they in ver. 34 means Lord had already the cup of His suffering
the Gentiles. at His lips ; was already, so to speak,
85—45.] Ambitious bequest op the sprinkled with the first drops of spray of
sons op Zebbdbb: our Lord's rbply. His baptism of blood: or they may be
Matt. xx. 20—28, where see notes through- merely official : " that I am to drink of,
out, and especially on the difference in our and to be baptized with." 42.] they
ver. 35. The two accounts of the dis- which are accounted to rule,— who have
course are almost verbatim the same, and the title of rulers : literally, they which
that they came from one source is very seem to rule, or, think that they role,
apparent. Even here, however, slight de- It is not, 'those who tml*,' which Gfod
viationj occur, which are unaccountable, alone does..

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262 ST. MARK. X. 46—52.

man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and

•yfffSj* ° to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they came to Jericho : and as he went out of
Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people,
1 blind Bartimseus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway
side begging. *? And when he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of
David, have mercy on me. ** And many charged him
that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a
great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. *• And
Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And
they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise ; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away
his ganrient, k rose, and came to Jesus. 61 And Jesus an-
swered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should
do unto thee ? The blind man said unto him, * Lord, that
I might receive my sight. 5a And Jesus said unto him,

»*•**• &11- Go thy way; *thy faith hath mmade thee whole. And
immediately he received his sight, and followed a Jesus in
the way.

XI. 1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto
Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he
sendeth forth two of his disciples, 2 and saith unto them,
Go your way into the village over against you : and as
soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied,

* most ancient authorities have, Bartimseus the son of Timseus, a blind
beggar, sat by the wayside.

* many ancient authorities have, leaped Up, and Came to Jesus.
1 render, Rabboni.

m render, saved thee, as in Luke vii. 60 ; xviii. 42. This can hardly be done
in Matt. ix. 22, on account of what follows,

* read, him.

46—52.] Healing op blind Babti- place. 61.] Rabboni, L e. Master, or

umub on depabtttbe from Jebicho. My Master, see John xx. 16. It was said

Matt. xx. 29—34. Luke xviii. 35—43. On to be a more respectful form than Habit

the three accounts referring to one and the merely. 62.] In Matthew only, Jesus

same miracle, see on Matthew. I will only touches him. The account here and in

odd here, that a similar difference of num- Luke seems to correspond more closely

her between Matthew and Mark is found in with the wonderful strength of his faith,

the miracle in the neighbourhood of Ger- Our Lord healed by a word in such

gesa, ch. v. 2. 46.] Bar-timsBUS see Matt. viii. 10—13, ch. vii. 29, and

means, the son of Timaus, — so jBartho- other places. St. Luke adds, "glorifying

lomew, ch. iii. 18, 2farjesus, Acts xiii. 6. GW,"— and that all the people seeing him

48.] See on Matthew vv. 20, 31. gave glory to Qod; see also Luke xix. 37.

60.] Signs of an eye-witness, which Ciiap. XI. 1 — 11.] Tbiumphal entry

make us again believe, that here we have into Jebttsalem. Matt.xxi. 1—17. Luke

the literally exact account of what took xix. 29 — 44. John xii. 12—36. On the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XL 1—11.

ST. MARK.

263

whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. 8 And

if any man say unto you, Why do ye this ? say ye that

the Lord hath need of him ; and straightway he will send

hira hither. 4 And they went their way, and found ° the

colt tied by the door without in P a place where two ways

met ; and they loose him. 5 And certain of them that

stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt ?

6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded :

and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to

Jesus, and cast their garments on him ; and he sat upon

him. 8 And many spread their garments in the way : and

others cut down branches * off the trees[, rand strawed

them in the way] . 9 And they that went before, and they

that followed, cried, saying, "Hosanna; Blessed [»**] heaSjA0XTUL

that cometh in the name of the Lord : 10 blessed [8 be] the

kingdom of our father David, that cometh [•• in the name

of the Lord] : b Hosanna in the highest. n And * /<w«*b*"exlTUL

entered into Jerusalem, [tt and] into the temple : and when

he had looked round about upon all things, and now the

eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the

twelve.

0 read, a.

* read, out of the fields.

0 not expressed in the original,
cases. Either is or be may be right.

% P see note.

r omitted in many ancient authorities.
The word supplied ought to be the same in both
*■ omit. * read, he. u omit.

general sequence of events of this and the
following day, see note on Matthew, ver. 1.
1, 2.J As far as ye shall find, the
agreement in Matthew, Mark, and Luke
is nearly verbal; after that, Mark and
Luke only mention the foal, and add, on
which never man sat. Compare with this,
Luke xxiii. 63. Our Lord's birth, tri-
umph, and burial were to be, in this, alike.
Meyer observes of this part of the history,
* A later tradition, sprung from the sacred
destination of the beast (for beasts never
yet worked were used for sacred purposes.
Num. xix. 2 : Deut. xxi. 3 : 1 Sam. vi. 7).'
But does it never strike such annotators,
that this very usage would lead not only
to the narrative being so constructed, but
to the command itself having been so
given ? 4.] The report of one of those

sent : perhaps of Peter. The word ren-
dered a place where two ways met, only
means, * a road leading round a place,
and probably imports simply the street
Wordsw. interprets it, 'the back way,
which led round the house.' But there does

not appear to be any reason for supposing
the word " round" to refer to the house,
rather than to the whole block, or neigh-
bourhood, of houses, round about which
the street led. Dean Trench, on the A. V.
p. 116, would render it " a way round,"
" a crooked lane." 8, 9.] On the in-

teresting addition in Luke vv. 37 — 40,
see notes there. branches] called

branches of palm-trees, John, ver. 13:
the word signifies not merely branches,
but branches cut for the purpose of being
littered to walk on : and thus implies the
strawing in the way, which has been un-
skilfully supplied. 10.1 blessed ....
David -is peculiar to Mark, clearly set-
ting forth the idea of the people that
the Messiah's Kingdom, the restoration of
the throne of David, was come. See
the additional particular of the weeping
over the city, Luke, vv. 41 — 44* and notes.

11.]* See Matthew, ver. 12, and
notes on ver. 1 : also on John ii. 13 — 18.

I am by no means certain that the
solution proposed in the notes on Matthew

Digitized by VjOOQIC

264 ST. MARK. XL

13 And on the morrow, when they ▼ were come from
Bethany, he was hungry : 13 and seeing a fig tree afar off
having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing
thereon : and when he came to it, he found nothing but
leaves ; for w the time of figs was not yet. x* And x Jesus
answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee here-

cJohniLM. after for ever. And his disciples heard it. 15 c And they
come to Jerusalem : and z Jesus went into the temple, and
began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple,
and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the
seats of them that sold 7 doves : lfl and would not suffer
that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
*7 And he taught, saying [■ unto them], Is it not written,

diiA.iri.7. dMy house shall be called **of all nations the house of

• jsb.tu.ii. prayer? but eye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And
the a scribes and * chief priests heard it, and sought how they

'dT^I"'*' might destroy him: for they feared him, because f all the

LuiwiT.tt. peopie wag astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when even

was come, he went out of the city. 2° And in the morning,

v render, had come forth. w see note. x read, he.

7 render, the doves. ■ omitted in the oldest MS.

n render, an (or, the) house of prayer for (or, unto) all the nations.
See Dean Trench, on the A. V. p. 72. ' * transpose these.

is the right one, but I cannot suggest a was precocious, in being clothed with
better. When St. Mark, as here, relates an leaves : and if it had had on it winter Jigs,
occurrence throughout, with such signs of which remain on from the autumn, and'
an eye-witness as in ver. 4, it is very ripen early the next season, they would
difficult to suppose that he has transposed have been ripe at this time. But there
any thing; whereas St. Matthew certainly were none— it was a barren tree. On the
does not speak here so exactly, having import of this miracle, see notes on Mat-
transposed the anointing in Bethany : see thew. 16—19.] Matt. xxi. 12, 13,
notes on Matt. xxvi. 2, 6. where see notes : also Luke xix. 45 — 48.
12—26.] The barren fig-tree. The 16.] This was the court of the &en-
CLEANsnro of the Tbmple. Matt. xxi. tiles, which was used as a thoroughfare;
12 — 22. Our account here bears strong which desecration our Lord forbade,
marks of being that of a beholder and any vessel] — e. g. a pail or basket, — used
hearer : e. g. when they had come forth for common life. 17.] for all the
from Bethany,— afar off,— having leaves, nations, omitted in Matthew and Luke,
— and his disciples heard it The but contained in the prophecy :— mentioned
times and order of the events are here by St. Mark as writing for Gentile Chris-
more exact than in St. Matthew, who tians : but this may be doubted. 18.
seems to place the withering of the tree all the people was astonished at his doc-
immediateiy after the word spoken by our trine . . . . ] This remark, given by St. Mark
Lord. 13. the time of figs was not yet] and St. Luke, is omitted by St. Matthew :
The sentence, which in the original is probably because he has given us so much
elliptical (for the season was not of figs, of the doctrine itself. 19.] See note
or for it was not a season of figs), may be on Matthew, ver. 17. On the Monday and
Supplied,— for the season was not (one) of Tuesday evenings, our Lord appears to
figs,— or, for the season was not (that) of have gone to Bethany. 20—26.] The
figs, i.e. not yet the season for Jigs. The answers are very similar to those in Mat-
latter suits the context best. The tree thew, but with one important addition

Digitized by VjOOQIC

12—81. j ST. MARK. " "~'M 265

as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the

roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto

him, * Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is

withered away. 2S And Jesus answering saith unto them,

Have faith in God. ** * For verily I say unto you, That »M»tt.xvii.».

whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed,

and be thou cast into the sea ; and shall not doubt in his

heart, but shall believe that *b those things which he saith

0 shall come to pass ; he shall have [d whatsoever he saith] .

84 Therefore I say unto you, hWhat things soever yefcggtjji.7.

** desire, when ye pray, believe that ye e receive them, and ye JJ^Si.1''

shall have them. ^ And when ye stand praying, l forgive, jamwiji.«.

if ye have ought against any : that your Father also which c«i."m.'i*.

is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. M 'But k if kMatuxviu.

ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in

heaven forgive your trespasses.

*7 And they come again to Jerusalem ; and as he was
walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests,
and the scribes, and the elders, 28 and 6ay unto him, By
what authority doest thou these things? ^and who gave
thee this authority to do these things ? S9 And Jesus
[ff answered and] said unto them, I will also ask of you one
question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what
authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was
it from heaven, or of men ? answer me. 81 And they
reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From
heaven ; he will say, Why [W then] did ye not believe him ?

b render, Rabbi. bb read, that. ° literally, Cometh to pass : see note.
* omitted in tome ancient authorities ; in which case it must be supplied,
dd read, pray and ask. e most ancient authorities read, have received.

' this verse is omitted by several ancient authorities, probably by mistake in copying,
as verses 25 and 26 end with the same word, trespasses.

" read, or. E omit. MP omit.

here, viz. w. 25, 26 : see Matt. vi. 14, and See also Matt. v. 23 f., where the converse
1 Tim. ii. 8. The connexion here seems to this is treated of.
to he, ' Though you should aim at strength 27—88.] The Authoeitt of Jesus
of faith,— yet your faith should not work questioned. His beply. Matt. xii. 28
in all respects as you have seen me do, in — 82. Lake xx. 1 — 8. Our account and
judicial anger condemning the unfruitful that of St. Matthew are very close in
and evil ; but you rnustforgive.' 24. agreement. St. Luke's has (compare ver.
believe that ye have received them] The 6, " all the people will stone us") few and
past tense is used, because the reception unimportant additions : see notes on Mat-
spoken of is the determination in the divine thew. 28.] The expression these
counsels coincident with the request — be- things need not necessarily refer to the
lieve that when you asked, you received, cleansing of the temple, as Meyer : but
and the fulfilment shaU come. 25.1 seems, from Luke, to extend over our Lord's
On the matter, compare Matt. vi. 14 f. whole course of teaching and putting him-

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266 ST. MARK. XI. 82, 83.

32 But *ifwe shall say, Of men; they feared the people :

1 xh?i!llh!Vi. f°r 1&11 men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

*" 3s And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot

tell. And Jesus p answering] saith unto them, Neither do

1 tell yon hy what authority I do these things.

XII. 1 And he began to speak unto them by parables.
A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about
it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower,
and let it out to husbandmen, and k went into afar country.

2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant,
that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit
of the vineyard. 8 And they caught him, and beat him,
and sent him away empty. * And again he sent unto
them another servant; and *at him they cast stones,
and wounded him in the head, and m sent him away
shamefully handled. B And [n again] he sent another ;
and him they killed, and many others ; beating some, and
killing some. 6 ° Having yet therefore one son, his well-
beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They
will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said
among themselves, This is the heir ; come, let us kill him,
and the inheritance shall be out's. 8 And they took him,
and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What
shall [P therefore] the lord of the vineyard do ? he will
come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vine-

h read, shall we say, Of men ? * omit.

* the original has only, left the Country.

1 many ancient authorities have only, they WOUnded him in the head.

m many ancient authorities have only, shamefully handled Hhim.

n omit.

0 many ancient authorities have, He had yet one wellbeloved son : him
he sent last unto them.

P omitted by some ancient authorities.

self forward in public. 82.] The answer probable here; for they did not kill him,

to the question, asked by themselves, is but disgracefully used him. I must

given by the Evangelist. not allow any opportunity to pass of direct-

Chap. XII. 1—12.] Parable op the ing attention to the sort of difference, in

vineyabd let out to HUSBANDMEN, similarity, between these three reports, —

This parable is, for the most part, identical and observing that no origin of that differ-

with that in Matt. xxi. 83 — 46, and Luke cnce is imaginable, except the gradual

xx. 9—19. The number and treatment of deflection of accounts from a common, or

the servants sent, is enlarged on here; a parallel source. See notes on

and in ver. 4 there occurs a singular word, Matthew throughout. 9.1 he will

which we render, wounded him in the eome, &c., is not the answer of the Phari-

head. Some have supposed it means, ' they sees, nor of the people, as the correspond-

made short work with him' which is the ing sentence in Matthew (see note there),

more usual sense of the word, but not but, here and in Luke, a continuation of

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

XII. 1—19. ST. MARK. 267

yard unto others. 10 And have ye not read this scripture ;
■The stone which the builders rejected * is become the head **Ja-cxtUI-
of the corner : n this was the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes ? 12 b And they sought to lay hold b SiiViLts,
on him, but feared r the people ; for they knew that he had 80,u'
spoken the parable against them : and they left him, and
went their way, 13 and [■ they] send unto him certain of
the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to t catch him in his
words. 14f And when they were come, they say unto him,
Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no
man : for thou regardest not the person <tf men, but
teachest the way of God in truth : Is it lawful to give
tribute to Caesar, or not ? 15 n Shall we give, or n shall we
not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto
them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a y penny, that I
may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto
them, Whose is this image and superscription ? And they
said unto him, Caesar's. *7 And Jesus [▼▼ answering] said
unto them, Bender to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's. And they mar-
velled at him.

18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, ° which say there cacuxxiu.s.
is no resurrection ; and they asked him, saying, 19 Master,
d Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave dDe*t.xxv.a.
his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his

4 render, the same is become, as in Matt, xxi. 42.

r render, the multitude. The word in Luke xx. 19 is different.

■ omit. * literally, to catch him by a word.

n render, must. v render, denarius. ▼* omit:

our Lord's discourse. After ver. 11 saying of His. 14.] Knit we give, or

comes in Matt. vv. 48—45. 12.] must we not give 1 the originality of the

Meyer makes the multitude (" the people" report is shewn by these words. They

in Luke) the subject of they knew, but wish to drive our Lord to an absolute

I think quite unnecessarily. The fear of affirmation or negation. 16.] a de-

the people is increased by the conscious- narius (see note on Matt. xx. 2), Mark and

ness on the part of the rulers that He had Luke, answers to " the tribute-money"

spoken the parable against them : they are Matthew- 17.1 they marvelled is in the

as men convicted before the people. original in the imperfect tense, and is

13—17.] Reply concerning the graphic. This was going on, when the

lawfulness of tbibute to Cesar, next incident began.

Matt. xxii. 16— 22. Luke xx. 20— 26. The 18— 87.] Reply to the Sadducees

parable of the wedding-garment, Matt. xxii. concerning the resurrection. Mntt.

1— -14, is omitted. The only matters re- xxii. 23— 33. Luke xx. 27— 40. The three

quiring additional remark in these verses reports are very much alike in matter, and

are, — 13.] by a word signifies the instru- now and then coincide almost verbally

ment wherewith they would catch him : (Matthew ver. 27, Luke ver. 32. Mark ver.

the verb being one taken from the chase. 23 end, Luke ver. 33). The chief addi-

They wished to lay hold on him by some tions are found in Luke, w. 34— 36, where

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288 ST. MARK. XII.

brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his
brother. 20 [w Now] there were seven brethren : and the
first took a wife, and dying left no seed. 21 And the
second took her, and died, neither left he any seed : and
the third likewise. 22 And the seven [x had her, and] left
no seed : last of all the woman died also. ^ In the resur-
rection [x therefore] , when they shall rise, whose wife
shall she be of them ? for the seven had her to wife.
24 And Jesus [x answering] said unto them, Do ye not there-
fore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the
power of God? ** For when they shall rise from the
dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage ; but

'ifaa.^'4* eare as [Tthe] angels which are in heaven. M And as
touching the dead, that they rise : have ye not read in the
book of Moses, 7 how in the bush God spate unto him,

fExoB.ui.o. saying, f I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob ? W * He is not the God of the dead,
but the God of the living : ye [x therefore] do greatly err.
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them
reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment

w omit. x omit.

7 render, in the history concerning the Bush, how God spake.

1 render, God is not [the God] of dead men, but of living.

see notes, and on Matthew throughout. Sadducees. I should be disposed to take
28.] when they shaU rise does not St. Mark's as the strictly accurate account,
here mean, * token men (the dead) shall seeing that there is nothing in the ques-
rise/ but when they (the wife and seven tion which indicates enmity, and our
brothers) shall rise : see on ver. 25. Lord's answer, ver. 34, plainly precludes
26.] the when they shall rise here is it. The man, from hearing them dis-
general, not as in ver. 23 : see last note, puting, came up, and formed one of the
26. in the history ooncerning the band who gathered together for the pur-
Bush (so also in Luke)] The words may in pose of tempting Him. St. Mark's report,
the original mean either, 'in the chapter which here is wholly unconnected in origin
containing the history of God appearing in with St. Matthew's, is that of some one
the Bush,' or, ' when he was at the Bush.' who had taken accurate note of the cir-
The former is the more probable, on ac- cumstances and character of the man:
count of the construction -of the verse in St. Matthew's is more general, not entering,
our text. In Luke, if we had his account as this, into individual motives, but classing
alone, the other rendering might be ad- the question broadly among the various
missible, ' Moses testified, at the Bush :' " temptations" of our Lord at this time,
but this will not answer in our text. 28.] The motive seems to have been,
28 — 34.] Reply concbbnfng the admiration, of our Lord's wise answer,
GBBAT commandment. Matt. xxii. 34 and a desire to be instructed further by
—40, but with differing circumstances. Him. the first commandment of all;
There the question appears as that of one — this was one of the " strivings about the
among the Pharisees' adherents, who puts law" (Titus iii. 9), — which was the greatest
this question, "tempting him" — and in commandment. The Scribes had many
consequence of the Pharisees coming up to frivolous enumerations and classifications
the strife, after He had discomfited the of the commands of the law.

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20—36.

ST. MAEK.

of all ? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first [a of all the

commandments] is, *Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is * J XJx!f£

one Lord : 3° and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with

all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,

and with all thy strength : [a this is the first commandment.]

31 [*And] the second is [* Hie, namely] this, hThou shalt '{gj'gfr "•

love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other com- S^Ils.

mandment greater than these. s* And the scribe said

unto him, Well, Master, D thou hast said the truth : for

there is one God; 'and there is none other but he : 33 and 1^eBt-!T-5B-

to love him with all the heart, and with all the under- 14sxWL0-

standing, and with all the soul, and with all the strength,

and to love his neighbour as himself, kis more than all ^Slfe'1*

whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. ** And when Jesus S?hTL

saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou

art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man ° after

that durst ask him any question. S5 And Jesus answered

and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the

scribes that Christ is the son of David ? M co For David

* omit. b read, thou hast truly said that He is one.

c render, any more. °° read, But.

29 f.] St. Mark cites the passage entire, — St.
Matthew only the command itself.
81.] Onr Lord adds this second as an
application or bringing home of the first.
The first is the Sun, so to speak, of
the spiritual life: — this the lesser light,
which reflects the shining of that other.
It is like to it, inasmuch as both are laws
of love : both deduced from the great and
highest love: both dependent on "I am
the Lord thy God," Lev. xix. 18.
Stier sets forth beautifully the strong con-
trast between the requirement* of these
two commands, and the then state of the
Jewish Church : see John vii. 19.
32, 38.] The Scribe shews that he had
entered into the true spirit of our Lord's
answer; and replies in admiration at its
wisdom. whole burnt offerings and

sacrifices, the things to which the out-
ward literal observers paid all their atten-
tion. 84. not far ... .] This man had
hold of that principle in which Law and
Gospel are one : he stood as it were at the
door of the Kingdom of God. He only
wanted (but the want was indeed a serious
one) repentance and faith to be within it.
The Lord shews us here that even outside
His flock, those who can answer discreetly
(or intelligently) — who have knowledge of

the spirit of the great command of Law
and Gospel, are nearer to being of his
flock, than the formalists : — but then, as
Bengel adds, "If thou art not far off,
come in : otherwise thou hadst better been
far off." And no man . . . .] This is

apparently out of its place here, as it is
after the question which now follows, that
St. Matthew relates this discomfiture of
his adversaries. We must not however
conclude too hastily, especially where the
minute accuracy of St. Mark is at stake.
The question just asked was the last put
to our Lord, and therefore the notice of
its being the last comes m fitly here. The
enquiry which follows did more than
silence their questioning ; it silenced their
answering too ; both which things St.
Matthew combines as the result of this
day, in his ver. 46.

85—37.] The Phabisebs baffled by
a question concebning chbist and
David. Matt. xxii. 41—46. Luke xx.
41 — 44. The reports are apparently in-
dependent of any codlmon original, and
hardly agree verbally in the citation from
the LXX. See notes on Matthew.
35.] The whole controversy in the temple
is regarded as one : hence the new point
raised by our Lord is introduced as a

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270

ST. MARK.

XII. 37—44.

iytam.xxiu. himself said d xby the Holy Ghost "The Lord said to my

mP.A.«.i. ;Lor<^ s^ thou on my right hand, till I emake thine
enemies thy footstool. 37 David [* therefore] himself
calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son?

nch.w.i. And the common people heard him gladly. M And nhe
said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes,

o Lat« xi. 48. which love to go in long clothing, and \% love] ° salutations
in the marketplaces, 89 and the chief seats in the syna-
gogues, and the n uppermost rooms at feasts : *° which
devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long
prayers : these shall receive greater damnation. tt And
Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the

piKinftxiL people cast * money pinto the treasury: and many that
were rich cast in much. *2 And there came a certain poor
widow, and she threw in two k mites, which make a
k farthing. tt And he called unto him his disciples, and

qjcor.TiH.u. saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That 'this poor
widow hath cast more in, than all they which l have east

* render, in.

* many ancient authorities read, put thine enemies beneath thy feet.

' omitted in many ancient authorities. £ not in the original.

n render, chief places. * literally, brass : see Matt. x. 9.

k see note. 1 read, are casting.

rupt practices of the so-called priesthood
of Rome, than these of our Lord ? The
pretence was, to make their sanctity ap-
pear to these women, and so win their
favour. 40.] greater— because they

have joined thieving with hypocrisy.

41—44.] The widow's mites. Luke
xxi. 1 — 4 : probably from a common ori-
gin. 41. the treasury] This is
usually understood of thirteen chests,
which stood in the court of the women,
into which were thrown contributions for
the temple, or the tribute (of Matt. xvii.
24). But it is hardly likely that they would
be called the treasury, and we hear of a
building by this name in Josephus. Lucke
believes some part of the court of the
women to be intended!, perhaps a chamber
in connexion with these chests. Our
Lord had at this time taken his leave of
the temple, and was going out of it — be-
tween Matt, xxiii. end, and xxiv.
42.] mites, the smallest Jewish coin : St.
Mark adds which make a farthing, for
his Roman readers :— the mite = J of an
as = jj, — or, after the weight of the as
was diminished, yj3 of a denarius. Two,
Bengel remarks, are noticed : she might

rejoinder, with answered. 86.] Ob-

serve in the Holy Ghost, " in the Spirit,"
Matthew, — "in the book of Psalms,"
Luke : a coincidence not to be passed over.
87.] whence, i.e. from whence shall
we seek an explanation for what follows 1
And the common people (literallv
the great multitude) heard him gladly is
peculiar to Mark.

88 — 40.] Denunciation op thb
Scbibeb. Luke xx. 45 — 47. These verses,
nearly verbatim the same in the two
Evangelists, and derived from a common
report, are an abridgment of the dis-
course which occupies the greater part of
Matt, xxiii. — with the additions of love
to go in long olothing, and ver. 40,
see on Matthew, where these words are
spurious. The words in his dootrine seem
to imply that St. Mark understood it as
a compendium. They devoured

widows* houses, by attaching them to
themselves, and ap persuading thein to
minister to them of their substance. A
trace of this practice (but there out of
gratitude and love) on the part of the
Jewish women, is found in Luke viii. 2, 3.
What words can better describe the cor-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XIII. 1—9. ST. MARK. 271

into the treasury : ** for all they did cast in m of their
abundance ; but she m of her want did cast in all that she
had, r even all her living. , rDeatxxir.a

XIII. l And as he went out of the temple, one of his
disciples saith unto him, Master, see uwhat manner of
stones and n what buildings [° are here'] . * And Jesus
[P answering] said unto him, Seest thou these great build-
ings ? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that
shall not be thrown down. 8And as he sat upon the
mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James
and John and Andrew asked him privately, * Tell us, when
shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign * when all
these things shall be fulfilled? 5And Jesus 'answering
them began to say, a Take heed lest any man deceive you : * Kh."'*.8'
6 for many shall come in my name, saying, I am [■ Christ] ;
and shall deceive many. 7 And when ye shall hear of
wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled : [* for] such
things must needs be ; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For
nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom : and there shall be earthquakes in divers places,
and there shall be famines and troubles : these are the
beginnings of n sorrows.. 9 But *htahe heed to your- b *£? %fc}\i
selves : for they shall deliver you up to councils ; and in 10"
the synagogues ye shall be beaten : and ye shall be brought

m i.e. Out of. n render, what great.

0 omit : not in the original. P omit.

<1 read and render, when these things are about to be all fulfilled.

r many ancient authorities have, began to say unto them.

1 not in the original. I am he, is more faithful.
* omitted by many ancient authorities.

u literally, birth-pangs. v render, take ye : see note.

have kept back one. 43.] more, in no effect : the size and jointing of the

God's reckoning j more, for her own stones was too strong for it, and for all

stewardship of the goods entrusted to her the others." 8.] Peter and James

care. and John and Andrew are " his disciples "

Chap. XIII.] Jesus pbophesies of in Matthew, and "some" in Luke.

His coming, and op thb times op the 4.] these things implies that they viewed

end. Matt. xxiv. Luke xxi. 5 — 36. The the destruction of the temple as part of

accounts are apparently distinct, and each a great series of events, which had now by

contains some fragments which have es- frequent prophecy become familiar to them,

caped the others. On the matter of the < These things about which thou so often

prophecy, I have fully commented in Mat- speakest.' 6.] began to say — with

thew, where see notes: also those on Luke, this begins our Lord's full explanation on

1.] what great stones.— Josephus the matter. See reff. 8. there

says, " the stones of the building were 40 shall be . . . there shall be] By these repe-

cubits in size." And again, "for 6 days titions, majesty is given to the discourse,

together the strongest of all the battering the beginnings— i. e. but the be-

engines played on the wall and produced ginnings — the mere beginnings. 9.] ye

Digitized by VjOOQIC

272 ST. MARK. XIII.

before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them. 10 And the gospel must first be published

cKftxii!ii. among all w nations. u cBut when they shall lead you,
x and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye
shall speak, neither do ye premeditate : but whatsoever
shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye : for it is

'^Mi.4' not ye that speak, * but the Holy Ghost. ™ Now Hhe

9juM.Ltx. brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father
the son ; and children shall rise up against their parents,
and shall 7 cause them to be jput to death. 1S And ye shall

f jEttfx.nl.' k* bated of all men for my name's sake: but fhe that
Rev. ii. 10. M sfafl endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 But

gDm.ix.j7. when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, [a * spoken
of by Daniel the prophet,"] standing where it ought not, (let
him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in
Judaea flee to the .mountains : 16 and let him that is on the
housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein,
to take any thing out of his house : 16 and let him that is
in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

hLukexxui. 17 & But woe to them that are with child, and to them that
give suck in those days ! 18 And pray ye that your flight

'^ffV'Eii ^e not in the winter. 19 ! For pin] those days shall be
i1,2- affliction, such as *was not from the beginning of the

creation which God created unto this time, neither shall
be. 2° And except that the Lord had shortened d those
days, no flesh should 9be saved: but for the elect's sake,
whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. 21 And
then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ ; or,

w render, the nations. x render, to deliver you up.

7 render, put them to death.

■ render, hath endured. * omit.

* omit : not in the original. • render, hath not been.

d render, the days. • render, have been.

has the emphasis—let your care be . . . description of the place than we And there.

11.] St. Mark has w. 10, 11 pecu- 18.] St. Matthew adds, "nor on the

liar to himself. St. Luke (vv. 14, 15) has sabbath day" St. Mark wrote mostly for

something very like them— St. Matthew Gentile readers, and thus perhaps was not

nothing : but they occur Matt. x. 19, likely to report this. 19, SO.] the crea-

where see note. 12.] This is ex- tion which God created .... and the

pressed by " then shall many be offended, eleot'i take, whom he hath chosen, pecu-

and shall betray one another, and shall liarities of St. Mark's style in reporting our

hate one another," Matthew, ver. 10. Lord's discourses, for greater solemnity.

18.] hath endured, viz. in the confession John xvii. 26, John v. 16, cited strangely

implied by for my name's lake preceding, by Mr. Elliott to disprove this, are no

14.] where it ought not —see note cases in point. In both those, the expres-

on Matthew, ver. 15. This is a less definite sion is necessary to the sense : here, and

Digitized by VjOOQIC

10—32. ST. MARK. 273

lo, \}he is] there; believe [9 Mm] not: 22 for [tt false
Christs and] false prophets shall rise, and shall ^shew signs
and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But ktake ye heed : [** behold^] I have foretold you all * *pet.m. 17.
things. 2* x But in those days, after that tribulation, the^JjJJ-JJ-
sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light. 26 i And the stars u of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that axe in heaven shall be shaken. M m And then "^j^k18'
shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with Slxw.et.
great power and glory. 2? And then shall he send J his }^bf^j9
angels, and shall gather together i his elect from the four };j:10- B*T*
winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the utter-
most part of heaven. 3* Now learn iJ a parable of the fig
tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth
leaves, *ye know that summer is near : 29 so ye in like
manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know
that it is nigh, even at the doors. 8° Verily I say unto
you, that this generation shall not **pass, till all these
things be done. 81 Heaven and earth shall pass away :
but "my words shall not pass away. 82 But of that day niB».xLs.
1 and [m that] hour knoweth n no man, no, not nn the angels
which are in heaven, * neither the Son, but the Father.

' not in the original. 8 or, it : not expressed in the original.

gg omitted in some ancient MSS., and probably inserted from Matt. xxiv. 24.
h read, work. hn omit. i render, Howbeit.

& render, shall be falling from heaven. J read, the.

H render, the parable from the fig-tree : When now her branch be-
cometh tender. k read, it is known. tt render, pass away.

* read, Or. m omit : not in the original. n render, for perspicuity, none.
1111 read, an angel in heaven. ° render, nor even.

usually in St. Mark, it is merely idiomatic, her, emphatic, when her branch . . . con-

24.] The opening word is more than veying an a fortiori in the application,

the simple ' but :' and is best rendered If in so humble an example as the fig-tree

by howbeit or nevertheless : as if it were, yon discern the nearness of a season,

" though I have forewarned yon of all much rather should you in these sure and

things, yet some of those shall be so terrible awful signs discern the approach of the

as to astound even the best prepared among end. 30.] this generation — see on

you." in those days, alter that tribu- Matthew, ver. 34. 32.] This is one of

lation — then those days come after that those things which the Father hath put

tribulation : see note on Matthew, ver. 29. in his own power, Acts i. 7, and with

Our Evangelist omits the mourning which the Son, in his mediatorial office,

of the tribes of the earth, and the seeing is not acquainted : see on Matthew. We

the sign of the Son of Man. 27.J must not deal unfaithfully with a plain

from the uttermost part of the earth, and solemn assertion of our Lord (and

from the extremity of the visible plane of what can be more so than nor even the

the earth, shall the collecting begin : and Son, in which by the nor even He is not

shall proceed to the uttermost part of below but above the angels?) by such

heaven, to the point where the sky touches evasions as " He does not know it so .as

that plane on the other side. 28.] to reveal it to us," or as Aug., " He did

Vol. I. T

Digitized by VjOOQIC

274

ST. MARK.

XIII. 33—87.

1
pllatt.

°KkeS!i?'83 °Take ye heed, watch [°°and pray] : for ye know not
**";. ": when the time is. 8* [P p For the Son of man ii\ as a man.

V.14.

PP taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave
authprity to his servants, [* 0»J] to every man his work, and
commanded the porter to watch. 85 Watch ye therefore :
for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, M at
even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the
morning : M lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
S7 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

XIV. l After two days was r the feast of the passover,
and of unleavened bread : and the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put
him to death. 2 XTJBut they said, Not ■ on the feast day, lest
there be an uproar of the people.

8 * And M being in Bethany in the house of Simon the
leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an
alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious ; and

00 omitted in severed ancient authorities. P not expressed in the original.

PP the original has only, going from home : see on Matt. xxv. 14.

4 omit. M read, whether at.

r render, the passover, and the [feast of] unleavened bread.

** read, for. ■ render, during the feast. ■■ render, when he was.

»»• Lake Til

17.

not bo know it as then to indicate it to
the disciples." Of such a sense there is
not a hint in the context : nay, it is alto-
gether alien from it. The account given
by the orthodox Lutherans, as represented
by Meyer, that our Lord knew this by
possession, but not by use, is right enough,
if at the same time it is carefully remem-
bered, that it was this possession of which
He emptied Himself when He became man
for us, and which it belongs to the very
essence of His mediatorial kingdom to hold
in subjection to the Father. 33—87.]

Peculiar to Mark, and containing the con-
densed matter of Matthew, vv. 43 — 47, and
perhaps an allusion to the parable of the
talents in Matt. xxv. The porter is

the door-porter, whose office it would be
to look out for approaching travellers, —
answering especially to the ministers of
the word, who are (Ezek. xxxiii.) watch-
men to God's church.

Chap. XIV. 1, 2.] Conspibacy op the
Jewish authorities against Jebus.
Matt. xxvi. 1—5. Luke xxii. 1, 2. The
account of the events preceding the pas-
sion in our Qospel takes a middle rank
between those of St. Matthew and St. Luke.
It contains very few words which are not
to be found in one or other of them ; but
at the same time the variations from both

are so frequent and irregular, as in my
opinion wholly to preclude the idea that
St. Mark had ever seen either. The
minute analysis of any passage in the
three will, I think, convince an unpre-
judiced examiner of this. On the
chronological difficulties which beset this
part of the Gospel history, see note
on Matt. xxvi. 17. i. the pass-
over, and [feast of] unleavened bread]
classed together, because the time of eat-
ing the Passover was actually the com-
mencement of the feast of unleavened
bread. The announcement by our Lord
of his approaching death (Matt. xxvi. 2)
is omitted by St. Mark and St. Luke.

3—9.] The anointing at Bethany.
Matt. xxvi. 6—13. John xii. 1—8. (On
Luke vii. 36—60, see note* there.) The
whole narrative has remarkable points of
similarity with that of St. John,— and has
been used as one of the indications that
St. Mark had knowledge of and used the
Gospel of St. John. My own view leads
me to a different conclusion. I have

already remarked (note on Matt. xxvi. 3),
that while St. Matthew seems to have pre-
served trace of the parenthetic nature of
this narrative, such trace altogether foils
in our account. It proceeds as if con-
tinuous. 8. spikenard] The original,

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XIV. 1—11. ST. MARK. 275

she brake the box, and poured it on his head. 4 And
there were some that had indignation within themselves,
[* and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made 7\
6 For tt it might have been sold for more than three
hundred » pence, and have been given to the poor. And
they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her
alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good
work on me. 7 For bye have the poor with you always, aEsat.zf.ii.
and whensoever ye will ye may do them good : but me ye
have not always. 8 She hath done what she could : v she
is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9 w Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever wthis gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole world, this also that she
hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

10 And Judas Iscariot, ww one of the twelve, went unto
the chief priests, to betray him unto them. n And when
they heard [if], they were glad, and promised to give him
money. And he sought how he might conveniently
betray him.

* read, to what purpose this waste of the ointment had been made,
tt read, this ointment. n render, denarii.

v render, she hath by anticipation anointed. ^ read, But verily.

w read, the. ww literally, the one, or that one, of the twelve.

literally rendered, is as Bishop Jeremy also common to John, bnt as addressed to

Taylor has it in his Life of Christ, § 15, Judas. 7.] The agreement verbatim

" nard pistick." Bat it is quite uncertain here of Matthew and John, whereas our

what this epithet " pistick " means. The narrative inserts the additional clause and

discussion may be seen in my Greek Tee- whensoever ye will ye may do them good,

taraent. Here I can only state that the is decisive against the idea that St. Mark

two possible explanations are (1) genuine, compiled his account from the other two.

unadulterated; and (2) liquid, or drink- In these words there appears to be a

able. There clearly appears to have been reproach conveyed to Judas, and perhaps

a certain sort of ointment which they an allusion to the office of giving to the

drank: see citations as above. The word poor being his. S.] We have here again

is nowhere found in the classics, only here a striking addition peculiar to Mark,

and in the parallel place in St. John, and She hath done what the could : a similar

some later writers. brake the box praise to that given to the poor widow, ch.

can hardly mean only having broken the xii. 44 — " she cast in all that she had." We

resin with which the cork was sealed. In have also the expression she hath by antt-

ch. v. 4, John xix. 36, Rev. ii. 27, the eipation anointed, shewing, as I have

word is used of breaking, properly so observed on Matthew, that the act was

called : and I see no objection to supposing one of prospective love, grounded on the

that the box (i. e. of course the narrow deepest apprehension of the reality of our

neck of it) was crushed in the hand, and Lord's announcement of His approaching

the ointment thus poured over His head, death. 9.] See notes on Matthew

The feet would then (John xii. 8) be ver. 13.

anointed with what remained on the hands 10, 11.] Compact of Judas with the

of Mary, or in the broken vase (see note chief priests to beteay him. Matt,

on Luke vii. 38). 4, 5. some] See xxvi. 14—16. Luke xxii. 3—6. The only

notes on Matthew. The three hundred matters requiring notice are,— the word*

denarii is common to our narrative and when they heard [it], i. e. ' the proposal,*

that of St. John. 6.] Let her alone, — and promised, implying, as does the

T 2

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276

ST. MARK.

XIV.

13 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they
killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where
wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the
passover ? 13 And he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall
meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water : follow him.
** And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the x goodman
of the house, The Master saith, Where is 7 the guest-
chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my dis-
ciples ? 16 And he will shew you a large upper room
furnished and prepared : ■ there make ready for us. 16 And
his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found
as he had 6aid unto them : and they made ready the pass-
over. *? And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say
unto you, One of you a which eateth with me shall betray
me. 19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto
him one by one, Is it I? and another ft said], Is it I ?

the householder.

7 read, my.

a render, shall betray me, he that eateth with me.
* not in the original.

1 read, and there.

word in Luke, that the money was not
paid now, either as fall wages, or as
earnest-money,— but promised; and paid
(most probably) when the Lord was
brought before the Sanhedrim, which was
what Judas undertook to do.

12 — 16.] Preparation por cele-
brating the Passover. Matt. xxvi. 17
— 19. Luke xxii. 7 — 13. Our account
contains little that is peculiar. 12.]

when they killed the passover, like St.
Luke's expression "when the passover must
be killed," denotes the ordinary day, when
they (i. e. the Jews) sacrificed the Pass-
over;— for that the Lord ate His Pass-
over on that day, and at the usual time, is
the impression conveyed by the testimony
of the three Evangelists : see notes on
Matthew ver. 17, and Luke ver. 7. We
may notice that if this Gospel, as tra-
ditionally reported, was drawn up under
the superintendence of Peter, wo could
hardly have failed to have the names of the
two disciples given ; — nor again would our
narrator have missed (and the omission is
an important one) the fact that the Lord
first gave the command, to go and prepare
the Passover — which St. Luke only relates.
It becomes a duty to warn students
of the sacred word against fanciful inter-
pretations. A respected Commentator of

our own day explains the pitcher of water,
which led the way to the room where the
last Supper was celebrated, to mean " the
baptismal grace" which we have "in
earthen vessels," which " leads on to other
graces, even to the communion of Christ's
Body and Blood." 15.] In the midst

of a verbal accordance with Luke we have
here inserted prepared, indicating that the
guest-chamber was already prepared for
the celebration of the Passover, as would
indeed be probable at this time in Jeru-
salem. The disciples had therefore only to
get ready the Passover itself.

17 — 21.] Jesus, celebrating the
Passover, announces His betrayal

BY ONE OF THE TWELVE. Matt. XXVi. 20

-26. Luke xxii. 14 (21— 23). John xiii.
21 ff. The account of St. Luke (ver.

16) supplies the important saying of our
Lord respecting the fulfilment of the two
parts of the Passover feast— see notes
there. After our ver. 17, comes in tke
washing of the disciples' feet by the Lord
as related in John xiii. 1—20. 18.]

The words he that eateth with me are
peculiar to Mark, and, as we have seen
before, bear a relation to St. John's ac-
count, where our Lord had just before cited
"he that eateth bread with me" Src. ver. 18*
They do not point out any particular per*

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12—82. ST. MARK. 277

20 And he [c answered and] said unto them, It is one of the

twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. 21 co The Son of

man indeed goeth, as it is written of him : but woe to that

man by whom the Son of man is betrayed : good were it

for that man if he had never been born. 22cAnd aseic<w.xi.».

they did eat, d Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it,

and gave to them, and said, Take[dd, ea(\ : this is my body.

23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks,

he gave it to them : and they all drank of it. ** And he

said unto them, This is my blood of the [• new] testament,

which is * shed for many. ^ Verily I say unto you, I will

drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that

I drink it new in the kingdom of God. ^ And when they

had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended

[& because of me this nighf] : for it is written, d I will smite *z««.xui.7.

the shepherd, and the sheep shall be h scattered. 3* But

e after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. ech.«ri.7.

29 But Peter said unto him, * Although all shall be offended,

yet will not I. *° And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say

unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the

cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. 31 But he

spake the more vehemently, If I u should die with thee, I

will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they

all. 32 And they came to a place which was named Geth-

semane : and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I

c omit. cc several ancient authorities read, Because the Son of man . • .

d read, he.

dd omit, as in all the most ancient authorities, and read, Take [this] .

e omit : better render in consequence, covenant, instead of testament.

* or, being shed. ff omit.

n render, scattered abroad : the word is the same as in Matt. xxvi. 31.

1 read, even if. H render, must.

son, but give pathos to the contrast which 26 — 31.] Declaration that all
follows. 20.] This description of the should eobsake Him. Confidence
traitor here again does not seem to de- of Peteb. Matt. xxvi. 30 — 35 (see Luke
signate one especially, nor to describe an xxii. 31 — 34, and notes there). Our Re-
action at that moment proceeding, but, as count is almost verbatim the same as that
before, pathetically to describe the near in Matthew, where see notes. The few
relation of the betrayer to the Betrayed, differences are there commented on.
-Now however the relation pointed out is 30.] Notice the climax : this day, but not
still closer than before — it is that of one only this — in this night, the part of it now
dipping in the same dish— one of those present : nor only so, but before the cock
nearest and most trusted. crow twioe, i. e. long before the night is
22 — 26.] Institution op the Lord's over. 31.] spake the more vehe-
Suppee. Matt. xxvi. 26—29. Luke xxii. mently — the original implies, went on
19, 20. 1 Cor. xi. 23—25. See notes on repeating superabundantly.
Matthew. 32—42.] Oub Lord's aqont at

Digitized by VjOOQIC

278 ST. MARK. XIV.

shall pray. M And he taketh with him Peter and James
and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very
fjohnxii.f7. heavy; 8* and saith unto them, fMy soul is exceeding'
sorrowful unto death : tarry ye here, and watch. 35 And
he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and
prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from
»Rj»^»w. him. S6 And he said, *Abba, Father, hall things are
?j?hnT:», possible unto thee; take away this cup from me : 'never-
theless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 37 And he
cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter,
Simon, sleepest thou ? couldest not thou watch one hour ?
88 Watch ye and pray, lest ye i enter into temptation.
*»2^ *{«•»• k The spirit truly is ii ready, but the flesh is weak. 89 And
again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same
words. *° And *when he returned, he found them asleep
again ; for their eyes were heavy ; neither wist they what
to answer him. 41 And he cometh the third time, and
saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest : it is
uohnxiu.i. enough, 2the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is be-
m johnxTiii. trayed into the hands of sinners. ** m Rise up, let us go;
lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. tt And immediately,
while he yet spake, cometh tt Judas, * one of the twelve, and
with him a p great] multitude, with swords and staves, from
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ** And
he that betrayed him had given them a token, saying,
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he ; take him, and
lead him away safely. ** And as soon as he was come, he
goeth straightway to him, and saith, m Master, master ; and

J read, come. U render, willing : it is the same word as in Matt. xzvi. 41.

k read, coming again : omitting again below. kk read, Judas Iscariot.

* many ancient authorities read, being one. ^ omit.

m render, Rabbi, Rabbi.

Gbthsemanb. Matt. xxvi. 86 — 46. Lake ing with Me. The Lord had no need of it

xxii. 39 — 46 (see John xviii. 1). The any more, now that the hour had come :

same remarks apply here also. 88.] not, as some, it is enough of sleep : this,

Notice the graphic lore amaied, and see as Meyer observes, is refuted by the sleep

note on ch. ix. 15, where the same word is on now.

used in the original. St. Matthew has to 43— US.] Betbatal aht> appbereit-

be sorrowful. 36.] Abba is the fa- sion of Jesus. Matt. xxvi. 47—56. Luke

miliar and endearing appellation for Father, xxii. 47— 53. 44. lead him away safely]

It is an Aramaic form, and after St. Mark's It does not quite appear whether safely

manner inserted, as 'Ephphatha/ ch. vii. is to be subjectively taken, *with confi-

34, — 'Talitha cumi,' ch. y. 41. Father dence;' or objectively, * in safety.9 Some

is not given as the interpretation of suppose that it has an ironical meaning —

Abba, but came to be attached to it in one q. d. 'He will know how to rescue himself

phrase as a form of address : see the refer- - — take care that you keep Him safe.' This

ences. 39.] the same words, not of course depends upon the view taken of

verbatim, but in substance : see in Matthew, the whole character and purpose of Judas,

41.] it is enough : viz. your watch- on which see notes at Matt. xxvi. 14 and

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83—58. ST. MARK. 279

1111,1 kissed him. *• And they laid their hands on him, and
took him. *? And one of them that stood by drew a a
sword, and smote ° a servant of the high priest, and cut off
his ear. *& And Jesus answered and said unto them, P Are
ye come out, as against 4 a thief 9 with swords and with
staves to take me ? *° I was daily with you in the temple
teaching, and yo took me not : r but n the scriptures must be BJt^J,L^
fulfilled, so • And they all forsook him, and fled. » And ° £■■ JSE?"
there followed ■ him a certain young man, having .a linen
cloth cast about his naked body; and xthe young men laid
hold on him : 5a and he left the linen cloth, and fled from
them naked. 63 And they led Jesus away to the high
priest : and u with him were assembled all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes. 5* And Peter followed
him afar off, y even into the palace of the high priest:
and he w sat with the servants, and x warmed himself at
the fire. 55 And the chief priests and all the council
sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death ; and
found none. 66 For many bare false witness against him,
7 but their witness agreed not together. 57 And there
arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,
58 We heard him say, pI will destroy this temple that is 'SoknVu.

mM see note on Matt. xxvi. 49. n render, his.

0 render, the (the same correction ought to have been made in Matt. xxvi. 5l) .
P Better, both here and in St. Matthew, Ye are Come out, $c. without a note of
interrogation. 4 render, a robber.

r render, but that the scriptures may be fulfilled.
■ render, with him. * read, they.

u render, there come together to him. » v render, even within into.

w render, was sitting. x render, warming. 7 render, and.

xxvii. 8. 45.] Babbi appears to have and had been aroused by the intelligence,

been the usual form in which Judas ad- The disciples were not laid hold of: — this

dressed our Lord : see Matt. xxvi. 25. But person perhaps was throwing some obstacle

we must not conclude from this with in the way of the removal of Jesus : or he

Bengel, that he never seems to have called may have been laid hold of merely in wan-

Him Lord : see Matt. vii. 21, 22. 61.] tonness, from his unusual garb.
It is impossible to determine, and therefore 58—66.] Hearing- befob* Caiaphas.

idle to enquire, who this was. Epiphanius, Matt. xxvi. 57 — 68. [Luke xxii. 54, 63 —

in recounting the traditional austerities of 65.1 John xviii. 24. See throughout notes

James the brother of the Lord, says, "that on Matthew. 53.] high priest —

he never wore a second inner garment, but Caiaphas, de facto, and in the view of our

strictly used one wrapper of linen only, as narrator : — so Matthew and f Luke : but

it savs in the Gospel, The young man fled Jesus was first taken before Annas, who

and left the linen cloth with which he was was de jure the high priest : see John

girt/' Chrysostom and others supposed it xviii. 12—23. 66.] their witness

to have been St. John : and there have agreed not together— literally, their testi-

been other conjectures. It seems to have monies were not equal, i. e. consistent

been some attached disciple of the Lord with one another. It was necessary that

(probably well known to the readers of two witnesses should agree. Deut. xvii. 6.
Mark), who had gone to his nightly rest, 57.] certain, — two : see Matthew.

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280 ST. MARK. XIV. 59—72.

made with hands, and within three days I will build
another made without hands. 59 But neither so did their
witness agree together. 60 And the high priest stood up
in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou
nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

qiw.uii.7. 61 But *he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again
the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou
the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ? 63 And Jesus said, I

rMfttt.ntT.to. am : r and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
hand of power, and coming *in the clouds of heaven.
63 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What
need we any further witnesses ? M Ye have heard the
blasphemy : what think ye ? And they all condemned
him to be guilty of death. 65 And some began to spit on
him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say
unto him, Prophesy : and the servants did strike him with
the palms of their hands.

66 And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh
one of the maids of the high priest : 67 and when she saw
Peter warming himself, she looked upon him, and said,
And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. 68 But he
denied, saying, a i" know not, neither understand I what
thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the
cock crew. fl9 And *a maid saw him [c again] , and began
to say to them that stood by, This is one of them. 70 And
he denied it again. And* a little after, they that stood by

■ render, with. a render, I neither know him, nor.

b render, the. c omit.

58.] We and I are emphatic. The by persons of note. 65 .] began— when
allusion is probably to Dan. ii. 84. the sentence was pronounced. The some
59.] Perhaps the inconsistency of these appear to be members of the Sanhedrim :
testimonies may be traced in the different the servants follow. Prophesy] St. Mat-
reports here and in Matthew. so, — thew and St. Luke explain this ^Prophesy,
• in asserting Mis' — i. e. they varied in the who smote thee ? '

terms in which it was expressed. 60.1 66—72.] Our Lord is thrice denied

On the most probable punctuation and by Peter. Matt. xxvi. 69 — 75. Luke

construction, see note on Matthew, ver. 62. xxii. 66—62. John xviii. 17, 18, 25 — 27.

61.1 the Blasted : in Hebrew, the See the comparative table, and notes, on

ordinary Name for God. " This is the only Matthew. 66.] beneath, because the

place in the N. T. where the well-known house was built round the court, and the

Name constantly used by the Rabbis is rooms looked down into it. See note on

thus absolutely given." Meyer. 62.] Matt. xxvi. 69. 68.] Peter's reply is

The " henceforth " of Matthew, and "from an union of two separate answers, which

this time " of Luke are here omitted. form the 1st and 2nd in Matthew.

68.] his clothes, literally, his tunics— not 69.] the maid — in Matthew " another

his priestly robe, which was worn only in matd," in Luke " another," but masculine,

the temple, and when officiating : see on Meyer does not appear to be justified in

Matthew, ver. 65. The plural perhaps asserting that this is necessarily the same

is due to the wearing of two inner garments maid as before : it might be only the maid

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XV. 1—8. ST. MAK£. 281

said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: •for«±ctoU-'-
thou *art a Galilaean [°, and thy speech agreeth thereto],
71 But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not
this man of whom ye speak. 72 And the second time the
cock crew. And Peter called to mind f the word that Jesus
said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny
me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

XV. l And • straightway in the morning the chief •SStltiH.wi
priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes, iv'*"
ff and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him
away, and delivered him to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked
him, Art thou the King of the Jews ? And he answering
8 said unto him, Thou sayest it. s And the chief priests
accused him of many things : but he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou
nothing ? behold how many things they n witness against
thee. 5 bBut Jesus *yet answered nothing; so that Pilate »> S&K9>
marvelled. fl Now ** at that feast he released unto them
one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. 7 And there was
one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had
made insurrection \}with Aim], u wAo had committed murder
in the insurrection. 8And the multitude k crying aloud

d render, art also. e omit. f read, the Word, how.

ff render, as did the whole council. ff read, saith. re read, charge.
h render, made him no further answer : viz. after that in ver. 2.
^ render, at the feast-time. i omit.

11 who is plural: better render for perspicuity, striking out the comma, and
had committed.

k many ancient authorities read, Coming up, i.e. thronging up round him.

in waiting in the porch : see note on Mat- of accuracy. From ch. xiv. 53 we know

thew. 70.] a little after is expressed that all were assembled. Lightfoot quotes

in Luke by " about the space of one hour from Maimonides a precept which declares

after" for . . . also] for, in addition to that of the Sanhedrim of 71 members it is

all that has been hitherto said .... not necessary for business that all be

72.] when he thought thereon — no en- present : but when all were specially sum-

tirely satisfactory meaning has yet been moned, attendance was compulsory,

given for the original word thus rendered. 6—15.] Barabbas fbefebbed to

Referring to my Greek Testament for the Him. He is delivebed to be cbuci-

discussion, I may sum it up by stating that pied. Matt. xxii. 15 — 26. Luke xxiii.

the sense in the text, though not elsewhere 17 — 25. John xviii. 89, 40. Our account

found, seems to suit both the word and the is nearly cognate to, but distinct from that

context better than any other that has of St. Matthew, where see notes. The

been suggested. principal points of distinction will be

Chap. XV. 1—5.] Jesus is led away noticed. 7.] The circumstance that

to Pilate, and examined by him. Barabbas was one of a set of murderers,

Matt, xxvii, 1, 2, 11—14. Luke xxiii. 1—5. shewn by the them that had made, and

John xviii. 28 — 38. Our account is very the plural who (see margin), is peculiar to

nearly related to that in Matthew : see notes our narrative, and shews that it is not

there. 1.] the whole council is a touch compiled from Matthew and Luke.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

282 ST. MARK. XV.

began to desire \}him to do] as he had ever done unto
them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saving, Will ye that
I release unto you the King of the Jews ? 10 For he knew
that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. n But
eAcuHLu. *the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather
release Barabbas unto them. ia And Pilate answered and
said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do
unto him whom ye call the Ring of the Jews ? 13 And
they cried out again, Crucify him. ** Then Pilate said
unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they
cried -out [m the more] exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And
so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas
unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged
him, to be crucified. 16 And the soldiers led him away
into the hall, n called Praetorium; and they call together
the whole band. *7 And they clothed him with purple,
and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

18 and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews !

19 And they smote ° him on the head with a reed, and did
spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the
purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led
him out to crucify him. 31 And they compel one Simon a
Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the
father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross. ^ And

1 not expressed in the original. m omit.

n render, which is. ° render, his.

8.] This is also peculiar to Mark — in Mat- DISKS. Matt, xxvii. 27 — 30 (omitted in

thew it is Pilate who first offers them the Luke). John xix. 1 — 3. See notes on

choice — in Luke they cry out, hut it is Matthew. 16.] hall, the court or guard

" away with this man, Sfc" ver. 18. room, hut open, see note on Matt. xxvi. 69.

coming np probably implies the rising of 17.] purple, in Greek, is vaguely used*

the crowd iu excitement— or perhaps their to signify different shades of red, and ia

coming up towards the palace, as " when especially convertible with " scarlet," as

they were gathered together" in Matthew. St. Matthew.

9.] Here our account differs from 20 — 28.] He ib led to csucmxioir.

Matthew and agrees with John, ver. 39. Matt, xxvii. 31 — 34. Luke xxiii. 26—33.

10.] He knew is the imperfect John xix. 16, 17. See notes on these,

tense : He was aware, He perceived, His 2L Alexander and Rufus] It is quite

apprehension of it was concurrent with the uncertain whether Alexander be identical

action going on. 12.] whom ye call with either of the persons of that name

the King of the Jews is "Jesus, which is mentioned Acts xix. 33, 1 Tim. i. 20, 2 Tim.

called Christ" in Matthew. Neither of iv. 14, or whether those, or any two of

these expressions can well have been copied them, represent one and the same person,

from the other. 13.] again only refers There is a Rufus saluted Rom. xvi. 13.

to " cried out ;" see ver. 8, where this is The words coming out of the country

implied in " began to desire ;" — they had determine nothing as to its being a working

not cried out this before. day or otherwise, any more than " they

16—19.] Jesus hocked by the sol- that passed by " Matthew, ver. 39 : nothing

Digitized by VjOOQIC

9—32. ST. MAEK. 28a

they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being
interpreted, The place of a skull. ^ And they P gave him
[PP to drink"] wine mingled with myrrh : but he received it
not, ** And when they had crucified him, d they 4 parted dft.udi.ia.
his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man
should take. ^ And it was the third hour, and they
crucified him. M And the superscription of his accusation
was written over, The King of the Jews. 2? And with
him they crucify two VL thieves ; the one on his right hand,
and the other on his left. [r M And the scripture was
fulfilled, which saith, e And he was numbered with the trans- tU*"mAtm
pressors.'] 29 And fthey that passed by railed on him, fPBXxU-7-
wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, *thou that de- f ftj?]^
stroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, 80 save
thyself, and come down from the cross. 31 Likewise also
the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the
scribes, He saved others ; himself he cannot save[§. z%Let
Christ the King of Israel] descend now from the cross, that
we may see and believe. And they that were crucified

P render, offered. PP omit. * read, part.

M render, robbers. r omit.

■ render, himself he cannot save, the Christ, the king of Israel.
Let him descend now. . . .

is said as to the distance from whence he way affecting the authenticity of the
came. 22.] the place Golgotha — or narrative, nor the truthfulness of each
perhaps the place of Golgotha, as the word Evangelist; but requires some solution
Golgotha would then answer to a skull in to the furnishing of which we are not
the interpretation; St. Luke has "the competent. It is preposterous to imagine
place which is called a skull" 28.] that two such accounts as these of the pro-
wine mingled with myrrh is "vinegar ceedings of so eventful a day should differ
mingled with gall " in Matthew, which see. by three whole hours in their apportion-
Literally, they were giving, i. e. they ment of its occurrences. So that it may
offered. fairly be presumed, that some different
24 — 28.1 He is crucified. Matt, xxvii. method of calculation has given rise to the
35 — 88. Luke xxiii. 33, 34, 38. John present discrepancy. Meanwhile the chro-
xix. 18—24. 25. the third hour] This nology of our text,—M being carried on
date is in agreement with the subsequent through the day, and as allowing time both
account, ver. 83, and its parallel in Mat- for the trtal, and the events of the cruci-
thew and Luke, but, as now standing un- fixion, — is that which will I believe be
explained, inconsistent with John, xix. 14, generally concurred in. All the other
where it is said to have been about the solutions (so called) of the difficulty are not
sixth hour at the time of the exhibition worth relating.

of our Lord by Filate. I own I see no 29—32.] He is mocked on the

satisfactory way of reconciling these ac- cross. Matt, xxvii. 39 — 44. Luke xxiii.

counts, unless there has been (see note on 85—37, 39—43. (John xix. 25—27.) Our '

John) some very early erratum in our narrative, derived from a common source

copies, or unless it can be shewn from with that of Matthew, omits the scrip-

other grounds than the difficulty before tural allusion, " He trusted in God," &c.

us, that John's reckoning of time differs Matthew, ver. 43. 32. And they that

from that employed in the other Evan- were crucified with him] See notes on

gelists. The difficulty is of a kind in no Luke.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

284 ST. MARK. XV. 38-47.

with him reviled him. w And when the sixth hour was
come, there was darkness over the whole * land until the
ninth hour. w And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a

h f*. mi. i. loud voice, [tt saying J b Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ? which
is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me ? 86 And some of them that stood by, when
they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. M And one
ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a

iPi.ixix.u. reed, and 'gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us
see whether Elias will come to take him down. 87 And
Jesus cried with a loud voice, and ugave up the ghost.
88 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the
top to the bottom. 89 And when the centurion, which
stood over against him, saw that he so [v cried out, and]
*gave up the ghost , he said, Truly this man was the Son of

k u." xxxviil" G°cL *° There were also women looking on kafar off:
among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James the less and of Joses, and Salome ; 41 who also,

i Lake Tiu. % when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered
unto him ; and many other women which came up with
him unto Jerusalem.
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the

* render, earth. •* omit.

u render, breathed his last : the word* are not as in Matthew.

▼ omitted by several ancient authorities, probably rightly.

33 — 87.] Supebnatubal daeknbsb. accused as having declared Himself to be.
Last words, and death of Jesus. 40, 41.] the less — literally, the
Matt, xxvii. 45 — 50. Luke xxiii. 44 — 46. little — either in age, or in stature, so die-
John xix. 28 — 30. Our account is nearly tinguished, hardly, at the time of this
verbally the same with Matthew. Gospel being written, from James the son
84.] El5i, the Syro-chaldaic form, answer- of Zebedee, but more probably from James
ing to "Eli" in Matthew. Meyer argues the brother of the Lord, tlie bishop of
that the words in Matthew must have been Jerusalem : see Introduction to Epistle of
those actually spoken by our Lord, owing James. This Mary is the wife of Alphoeus
to the taunt, that He called for Elias. or Clopas ; see John xix. 25. Salome
The last word is pronounced Sabachthani, is called in Matthew, " the mother of the
not Sabachthani. 86.] On the differ- sons of Zebedee :" our Evangelist men-
ence in Matthew, see notes there. tions that they had accompanied Him to

38— 41. ~J Signs following his death. Jerusalem ; — and we may observe a curious

Matt, xxvii. 51—56. Luke xxiii. 46, 47 — variation of the wording, in "followed

40. Omitted by John. See notes on Mat- Sim when He was in Galilee," and "fol-

thew. 89.] which stood over against lowed Jesus from Galilee"— the former

•him— a minute mark of accuracy, so com- rendering necessary the additional clause,

mon in Mark. so— so majestically, "which came up with Him" Ac.

as Theophylact. There was something in 42 — 47.] Joseph of Abimathjea

the manner of this last cry so unusual and begs, and buries, the body of Jesus.

superhuman, that the Centurion (see on Matt, xxvii. 57 — 61. Luke xxiii. 50 — 56.

Matthew) was convinced that He must John xix. 38—42. For all notes on the

have been that Person, whom He was substance of the common narrative, see

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XVI. 1.

ST. MARK.

285

preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, *3 Joseph
of Arimathsea, an honourable counsellor, which also
""waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went inmLukeii.»,
boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. ** And
Pilate marvelled if he were already dead : and calling
unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had
been any while dead. w And when he knew it of the
centurion, he gave the ▼▼ body to Joseph. ** And he bought
fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the
linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of
a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
*7 And Mary Magdalene and Mary [w the mother] of Joses
beheld where he was laid.

XVI. l And when the sabbath was past, Mary Mag-

w not expressed in the original.

already taken place. 45. gave] The

passage cited from Cicero to shew that it
was customary to give money on such
occasions, is not to the point; " the parents
were obliged to purchase with money a
speedy death/9 is not said of the body
after death, but of a fee given to the
officer for shortening the torments of the
executed. 46. bought] Therefore

it was not the first day of unleavened
bread, which was one of sabbatical sanc-
tity ; as indeed the whole of this narrative
shews, but such expressions as this more
strikingly. in a sepulchre] It is

not said, but implied, both here and in
Luke and John, that the tomb was his
own— for how should he place the Body
there otherwise? The newness of the
tomb is not mentioned here, but by the
other three Evangelists. 47.] Mary

of Joses— understand mother ; see ver. 40.
That the same person is so called here, and
Mary of James in the next verse, points to
a difference of origin in the two accounts
here, of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

The mother of the Lord had in
all probability previously departed: see
notes on Matt, xxvii. 56 and John xix. 27.

St. Luke generalizes, and says, the
women who came with Him from Galilee.

Some have understood by Mary of
Joses or Jose or Joseph (fur all are read
here in the MSS.), the wife or daughter
of Joseph of Arimatham — some, the mother •
of the Lord : but both unnecessarily, and
without proof.
Chap. XVI. 1—8.] The women,

COMING TO THE SEPULCHRE, ABE AP-
PRISED OP HIS EE8UKBECTION. Matt.

xxviii. 1 — 10. Luke xxiv. 1 — 12. John

V* literally, corpse.

Matthew. 42. the preparation, that

is, the day before the sabbath] TheFridav
afternoon (the preparation — Parasceve,
" the name by which Friday is now gene-
rally known in Asia and Greece." Wordsw.)
before sunset, at which time the Sabbath
would begin, and the taking down, Sec.
would be unlawful. The three Evangelists
do not imply that this " preparation " had
any thing especial in it, as St. John does,
ver. 31. 43.] honourable— probably in

its later sense of noble, i.e. in station. But
Meyer supposes it rather to refer to some-
thing noble in the character or appearance
of Joseph. counsellor, a member of

the Sanhedrim; — see Luke, ver. 51.
waited for the kingdom of God is common
to Mark and Luke. went in boldly]

Characteristic of St. Mark's narrative. On
the change of mind produced in Joseph
and in Nicodemus by the crucifixion, see
note, John xix. 39. 44.] There is no

inconsistency, or but a very trifling one,
with the order in John, ver. 31, to break
their legs and take them down. The cir-
cumstances related there had taken place,
but no report of them had been made to
Pilate. And the Body of the Lord had
not been taken down, for some reason
which does not appear, but which we can
easily guess:— if Joseph had declared to
the soldiers his intention of begging the
Body, nay, had immediately gone (perhaps
with them) to Pilate for that purpose, —
and went in boldly looks like a sudden
and unannounced application, — they would
have left the Body for him to take down,
marvelled if he were already dead
—he wondered at the fact thus an-
nounced to him of His death having

Digitized by VjOOQIC

286

ST. MARK.

xvr.

• LukexxliL
SO.

dalene, and Mary [w the mother] of James, and Salome,
a * had bought sweet spices, that they might come and
anoint him. a And very early in the morning the first
day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre 1 at the
rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves,
Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the
sepulchre? *And when they ■ looked, they saw that the
stone was rolled away : for it was very great. 6 And
11 entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting
on the right side, clothed in a long white garment ; and
they were affrighted. fl And he saith unto them, Be not
affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was cru-
cified : he is risen ; he is not here : behold the place where
they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and
Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee : there shall ye

w not expressed in the original. x render, bought.

7 render, when the sun was risen. ■ literally, looked up.

M read, when they came to.

back as the reason why they questioned
who should remove the stone, is not only-
harsh, but inconsistent with the usage
of this Qospel. 5.] In Matthew — an

angel, sitting on the stone which he had
rolled away. Here he is described as he
appeared, and we are left to infer what he
In Luke,— two angels appeared to

xx. 1—10. On the general difficulties of
this portion of the Gospels, and my view
respecting them, see notes on Matthew.
1. when the sabbath was past] It
was strictly when the Sabbath was ended,
i. e. at sunset, that they bought the spices.
St. Luke xxiii. 55, places it on the evening
before the Sabbath ; a slight but valuable
discrepancy, as shewing the independence
of the accounts. To suppose two parlies
of women (Greswell) or to take bought
as pluperfect (as the A. V.) is equally
arbitrary and unwarranted. anoint

him] This had not been done as yet. Nico-
demus (John xix. 40) had only wrapped
the Body hurriedly in the spices with the
linen clothes. 2. when the sun was

risen] This does not agree with Matthew,
" as it began to dawn toward the first dag
of the week " — Luke, " at early (or deep)
dawn ;" or John, "when it was yet dark :"
— nor indeed with "very early in the morn-
ing " of our narrative itself. If the sun
was up, it would be between 6 and 7
o'clock; which in the East especially,
where even public business was transacted
very early, could not be so called. Even
Greswell virtually acknowledges a difficulty
here. 3, 4. J It had been rolled away

by an angel, Matthew. for it was

very great is stated as a reason why they
could see that it was rolled away on look,
ing up, possibly at some distance. This
explanation is according to St. Mark's
manner of describing minute circumstan-
tial incidents; but to refer this clause

was.

them in the tomb. The incident to which
these accounts point, must be distinct from
that related John xx. 11, which was after
Mary Magdalene relumed from the city.
It is not worth while to detail the attempts
which have been made to reconcile these
various reports of the incident : they pre-
sent curious examples of the ingenuity, and
(probably unconscious) disingenuousness,
of the Harmonists. I may mention that
Greswell supposes the angels in Matthew
and Mark to be distinct, and accounts for
were affrighted in our text thus : ' After
seeing one angel without already, they
were probably less prepared than before
to see another so soon after within.'
6.] From the come of St. Matthew, I should
be inclined to think that his is the strictly
accurate account. This word implies that
the angel accompanied the women into
the tomb: and if so, an imperfect nar-
rative like that in the text might easily
describe his whole appearance as taking
place within. 7.] Bat breaks off the

discourse and turns to a new matter —
But now rather do ye . . . and Peter]
It is hardly perhaps likely that the
denial of Peter was the ground of this

Digitized by VjOOQIC

2—12.

ST. MARK.

287

see him, bas he said unto you. 8 And they went outbJJ^f2t
[a quickly] , and fled from the sepulchre; for ** they trembled *
and were amazed : neither said they any thing to any man ;
for they were afraid. [* 9 Now when c Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week, he appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, c out of whom he had cast seven devils, c Luke nu.f.
10 [d And] she went and told them that had heen with
him, as they mourned and wept. n And they, when
they heard that he was alive, and had heen seen of her,
believed not. 12 After that he • appeared in another form
dunto two of them, as they walked, and went into thed^fkeix,T-

a omit.

** render, for trembling and amazement had possession of them.

b this passage, ver. 16 — end, is omitted in some of the oldest authorities, and in all
probability formed no part of St. Mark's original Gospel. On its authenticity, see

note. c render, he.

message, though it is difficult not to con-
nect the two in the mind. The mention
of him here is probably merely official — as
the * first among equals.1 We cannot say
that others of the Apostles may not have
denied their Master besides Peter.
It most not be concluded from this that
we have a trace of Peter's hand in the
narrative. 8.] The idea of our nar-

rative here is, that the women fled in
terror from the sepulchre, and did not
deliver the message at the time, — for they
were afraid. All attempts to reconcile
this with the other Gospels are futile. It
is a manifest evidence that our narrative
is here suddenly broken off, and (per-
haps?) that no more information about
the women was in the possession of its
author. The subsequent verses are quite
disconnected from this; and contain the
substance of their writer's information
respecting the other appearances of the
Lord.

[9—20.] Appbabances op Jesus afteb
his re8uhbection : his ascension. an
addition to the narrative of a compen-
dious and supplementary character, bear-
ing traces of another hand from that
which has shaped the diction and con-
struction of the rest of the Gospel.
The reasons for and against this inference
will be found in the various readings in my
Greek Testament, and in the course of this
note ; and a general statement of them at
the end of it. I may here state, for the
English reader, that the passage is omitted,
— or marked as suspicious, as variously
given, — or asserted not to occur in the cor-
rect copies, — in many of our oldest authori-
ties. It is quoted as early as Irenssus, in

omit. • render, was manifested.

the 2nd century : but Jerome in the 3rd
says that nearly all the Greek MSS.in
his time fid not contain it. The legiti-
mate inference is, that it was placed as
a completion of the Gospel soon after the
apostolic period, — the Gospel itself having
been, for some reason unknown to us, left
incomplete. 9.] the first day of the

week is remarkable as occurring so soon
after the mention of it, ver. 2 (see Luke
xviii. 12). out of whom he had east

. . .] This notice, coming so late, after the
mention of Mary Magdalene in ver. 1.,
is remarkable. The instances quoted by
De Wette to shew that the unexpected
introduction of notices contained in the
other Gospels is in St. Mark's manner, do
not seem to me to apply here. This

verse agrees with John xx. 1 ff., but is
unconnected with the former narrative in
this chapter. 10. went and . . .] This

idiom, never used by St. Mark, is three time*
contained in this passage (vv. 12, 15).
them that had been with him, though
found in the Acts (xx. 18), never occurs in
the Gospel* : nor does the word " disci-
ples " in this passage. 11.] See John
xx. 18 : Luke xxiv. 11. had been
seen of (by) her is a construction only
found here in N. T., and the word here
used for "seen" (which occurs again ver.
14) is not used by Mark. believed
not (disbelieved) is only used in ver. 16
and Luke xxiv. 11, 41, throughout the
Gospels. 12.] After that is not found
in Mark, though many opportunities oc-
curred for using it. This verse epitomizes
the events on the journey to Emmaus,
Luke xxiv. 13—35. was manifested
... as they walked, though in general

Digitized by VjOOQIC

288

ST. MARK.

XVI.

• Luke xxlr.
M. John xx.
10. 1 Cor. xr.
5.

f John xt. 16.
r Col. 1. 28.
U John Hi. 18,

88. Act«!i.

88: xri.80-

81. Horn. x.

9. l Pet. 111.

SI.
1 John xil. 48.

country. 13 * And they went and told it unto the residue :
neither believed they them. 14j e Afterward he appeared
unto 8 the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided [re them
with] their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they
believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
16 f And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, g and
preach the gospel to * every creature. 16 h He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved ; * but he that believeth not

' render, they also.

K omit : not in the original.

* render, to the whole creation.

ff render, the eleven themselves.

The expression is the same as in Rom. viii. 22.

accord with St. Luke's narrative, is not
accurate in detail. It was not as they
walked, but as they sat at meat that
he was manifested to thein. in an-

other form— a slight difference from Luke
xxiv. 15, 16, which relates the reason why
they did not know Him to he, that their
eyes were holden, his being in his usual
form being declared by Jesus himself: but
see notes there. 13.] they also— as

Mary Magdalene had done before,
the residue — supply, of those that had been
with Him. neither believed they

them— not consistent with Luke xxiv. 33,
34. Here again the Harmonists have used
every kind of distortion of the plain
meaning of words to reconcile the two
accounts; assuming that some believed
and some doubted, that they first doubted
and then believed ; or, according to Ben-
gel, first believed and then doubted.
11.] The following narrative, evidently
intended by its author to represent what
took place at one and the same time, joins
together in one at least four appearances
of the Lord : (1) that related in this verse
and Luke xxiv. 36—49 ; (2) that on the
mountain in Galilee (Matt, xxviii. 16 — 20),
when the words in ver. 15 were spoken ;
(3) some unrecorded appearance when the
rest of these words (vv. 16 — 18) were
spoken, — unless we consider the whole to
have been said on the mountain in Gali-
lee; and (4^ the appearance which ter-
minated with the Ascension. The
latter part of this ver. 14 appears to be
an epitome of what our Lord said to them
on several occasions — see Luke xxiv. 25,
38 ; John xx. 27 ; Matt, xxviii. 17.
15. ail the world] "all the nations,"
Matt, xxviii. 19 : see note there,
preaeh the Gospel, without the addition
of " of the kingdom " (Matthew) or " of
God" (Mark i. 14 only, Luke), is in St.
Mark's manner (see ch. xiii. 10; xiv. 9).
It only ouce occurs in Matthew, viz.

xxvi. 13. the whole creation] Not

to men only, although men only can hear
the preaching of the Gospel ; all creation
is redeemed by Christ — see Col. i. 15, 23 ;
Rom. viii. 19 — 23. " Men, primarily, ver.
16 : the rest of the creatures secondarily.
As wide as the curse extends, reaches the
blessing. The creation by the Son, is the
foundation of redemption and of the king-
dom." Bengel. This word crea-
tion, or creature, appears never in the
N. T. to be used of mankind alone. Ben-
gel's "the rest of the creatures in the
second place" may be illustrated in the
blessings which Christianity confers on the
inferior creatures and the face of the earth
by bringing civilization in its wake.
By these words the missionary office is
bound upon the Church through all ages,
till every part of the earth shall have
been evangelized. 16.] These past
participles must be noticed, as carrying
on the thought to a time beyond the work
of the preacher : when saved and damned
shall take place ; and reserving the division
of mankind into these two classes, till that
day. On baptised, see note on Matt,
xxviii. 19. There is no " and is not
baptized" in the second clause here. Un-
belief—by which is meant the rejection of
the Gospel in heart and life, not weakness
or doubt as in ver. 14 — shall condemn a
man, whether baptized or unbaptized.
And, conversely, it follows that our Lord
does not set forth here the absolute,
but only the general necessity of Baptism
to salvation; as the Church of England
also teaches. But that general necessity
extends to all to whom Baptism is acces-
sible ; and it was well said •« not the pri-
vation, but the contempt of Baptism, con-
demns." These words cannot be
taken, as those in Matt, xxviii. 19, 20,
as setting forth the order in which faith
and baptism must always come; belief and
disbelief are in this verse the great leading

Digitized by VjOOQIC

13—20.

ST. MARK.

£89

shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them
that believe; jIn my name shall they cast out devils;
k they shall speak with new tongues ; 18 ] they shall take
up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall
not hurt them ; m they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover. 19 So then n after the Lord had spoken
unto them, he was ° received up into heaven, and p sat on

the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and

«. p Ps. ex.

. subjects, and believeth must on that account
stand first. On he that believeth

. . . shall be saved, compare Acts xvi. 31.
This is a solemn declaration of the doc-
trine of 'salvation by faith,' from the
Lord Himself; but such a faith as is
expanded, Matt, xxviii. 20, into teaching
them to observe all that I have com-
manded you; which is its proper fruits.
shall be damned, i. e. in the most
solemn sense : for the sin of unbelief: — for
those are now spoken of who hear the
Gospel preached, and reject it. 17.]

This promise is generally made, without
limitation to the first ages of the Church.
Should occasion arise for its fulfilment,
there can be no doubt that it will be
made good in our own or any other time.
But we must remember that signs are
not needed where Christianity is pro-
fessed: nor by missionaries who are backed
by the influence of powerful Christian na-
tions. There are credible testimonies
of miraculous powers having been exer-
cised in the Church considerably after the
Apostles' time shaU east out devils]

The Lord Himself has declared bow weighty
a sign this was, Matt. xii. 28. For fulfil-
ments of the promise, see Acts v. 16;
viii. 7 ; xvi. 18. shall speak with new
tongues] See 1 Cor. xiv. 22 : Acts ii. 4 al.
On the gift of tongues, see notes at those
places. 18.] shail take' up serpents —

see Acts xxviii. 3—5. if they drink

&c.] We have no instance of this given
in the Acts : but later, there are several
stories which, if to be relied on, furnish
examples of its fulfilment. Eusebius says
that "a wonderful thing was related of
Justus, who was surnamed Barsabas, — that
he drank deadly poison and felt no evil,
through the grace of the Lord." on

the sick] " to lay hands on" is in Mark's
manner ; see eh. viii. 25 ; x. 16. There is
no mention of the anointing with oil here,
as in James v. 14. 19.] The connecting
particle, rendered so then,— the Lord, —
and the Lord Jesus, which some MSS. read
here, are alike foreign to the diction of
Mark, in speaking of the Lord : we have
Vol. I.

J Luke x. 17.

Acta t. IS »

Till. 7: xtI.

18: xlx. 12.
k Acts ti. 4i

x 40: xix.6.

1 Cor. ill. 10,

*8.
1 Luke x. 10.

Acta xxviii.

6.
m Acts t. IS.

10: ix.17:

xxviii. 8.

Junes t. 11,

IS.
n Acts 1. 2. S.
oLukexxtT.51.
1. Acta Til. fit.

the Lord in the message (common to all
three Gospels) ch. xi. 3— but that mani-
festly is no example. after the Lord
had spoken con only in fairness mean,
• when He had spoken these words.' All
endeavours of the Harmonists to include
in them "not only these words, but all
that He spake " (Euthymius) will have no
weight with an honest reader, who looks
to the evident sense of his author alone,
and disregards other considerations. That
other words were spoken, we know; but
that this author intended us to infer that,
surely is not deducible from the text, and
fs too often allowed in such cases to creep
fallaciously in as an inference. We never
shall read or comment on Scripture with
full profit, till all such subterfuges are
abandoned, and the Gospel evidence treated
in the clear light of intelligent and honest
faith. We have an example of this last in
Theophylact's exposition, "when He had
thus spoken" was received up] I
should hardly say that the author of this
fragment necessarily implies an ascension'
from the place where they were then
assembled. The whole of these two verses
is of a compendious character, and as sat
on the right hand of God must be under-
stood as setting forth a fact not compre-
hended in the cycle of the writer's ob-
servation, but certain in the belief of all
Christians, so this may very well speak of
the fact as happening, not necessarily then
and there, but (see remarks above) after
these words were spoken ; provided always
that these words are recognized as the last
in the view and information of our Evan-
gelist. I say this not with any harmonistic
view, but because the words themselves
seem to require it. (See on the Ascension,
notes on Luke xxiv. 51 ff.) 90.] went
forth— not, from the chamber where they
were assembled —which would not answer
to preached every where, but would re-
quire some immediate action of that very
day to correspond to it (see Matt. xii. 14) ;
— but used in the more solemn sense of
Rom. x. 18 (cited from Ps. xviii. 4 LXX).
" their sound is gone forth into all lands :"
V

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290

ST. MARK.

XVI. 20.

q iwY'icor. preached every where, the Lord working with them, * and
~ ' confirming the word with * signs following, [* Amen.]2

ii. 4. 5. Heta. .
tt.4.

1 render, the signs that followed.

omit.

see reff. every where] No inference

can be drawn from this word as to the
date of the fragment. In Acts ix . 32 Peter
is said to have "passed throughout all
(quarters) . . .:" — the expression being
only a general one, indicating their per-
formance, in their time and degree, of onr
Lord's words, into all the world,
the Lord, i. e. Jesus : see Matt, xxviii. 20 :
Heb. ii. 3, 4, which last passage some have
absurdly supposed to have been seen and
used by our Evangelist. The two words
rendered following (here and in ver. 17) are
compound verbs, and both foreign to the
diction of St. Mark, often as he uses the
simple verb.

A few concluding remarks may be added
respecting w. 9—20. (1) For the ex-

ternal evidence, see as above. As to its
genuineness as a work of the Evangelist

Mark, (2) internal evidence is, I think,

ighty i_
author. No less than twenty-one words and

very weignty against St. Mark's being the

expressions occur in it (and some of them
several times), which are never elsewhere
used by St. Mark, — whose adherence, to
his own peculiar phrases is remarkable.
(3) The inference therefore seems to me to
be, that it is an authentic fragment,
placed as a completion of the Gospel in
very early times : by whom written, must
of course remain wholly uncertain; but
coming to us with very weighty sanction,
and having strong claims on our reception
and- reverence.]

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THE GOSPEL

ACCORDING TO

LUKE.

I. 1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth
in order a * declaration of those things which are most

a render, narration concerning.

Chap 1. 1 — 4.] Pbbface addressed to
Theophilus. The style of this preface is
purer Greek than the contents of the Gospel,
and also more laboured and formal. — This
may be accounted for, partly because it is
the composition of the Evangelist himself,
and not translated from Hebrew sources
like much of the rest, and partly because
prefaces, especially when also dedicatory,
are usually in a rounded and artificial
style. 1. many] Much depends on the

meaning of this word, as guiding, or modi-
fying, our opinion on the relation and
sources of our Gospel histories. (1) That
the writers of our present Gospels ex-
clusively cannot be meant, is evident;
since, even supposing St. Luke to have
seen all three Gospels, one (that of St.
John) was wholly, and another (that of
St. Matthew) was in greater part, the
production of an eye-witness and minister
of the word, — which would^ leave only one
for the many. (2) Apocryphal Gospels ex-
clusively cannot be meant : for they would
not be • narrations concerning matters fully
believed among us,' nor ' delivered by eye-
witnesses and ministers of the word,' a
great part of their contents being excluded
by this very author from his own narra-
tion. (3) A combination of these two
may be intended— e. g. of the later sort,
the Gospel according to the Hebrews, —
of the former, that according to St. Mark,
but then also how shall we make out the
many? Our present apocryphal Gospels
arose far later than any likely date which
can be assigned to St. Luke's Gospel : see

Introduction to Luke. (4) I believe the
only probable interpretation of the words
to be, that many persons, in charge of
Churches, or otherwise induced, drew up,
here and there, statements (narratives) of
the testimony of eye-witnesses and minis-
ters of the word (see below), so for as they
themselves had been able to collect them.
(I do not believe that either the Gospel
of St. Matthew or that of St. Mark is to
be reckoned among these ; or if they are,
that St. Luke had seen or used them.)
That such narratives should not have come
down to us, is no matter of surprise : for
(1) they would bo absorbed by the more
complete and sanctioned accounts of our
present Evangelists; and (2) Church tra-
dition has preserved very few fragments of
authentic information of the apostolic age.
It is probable that in almost every Church
where an eye-witness preached, his testi-
mony would be taken down, and framed
into some narrative, more or less complete,
of the life and sayings of the Lord,
have taken In hand] This does not ne-
cessarily imply the insufficiency of such
narrations, as some have imagined. The
fact of that failure is indeed implied in
St. Luke's description of his own work —
but that, more because it possessed com-
pleteness (whereas they were fragmentary)
than from any difference in kind.
to set forth in order] more properly, to
draw up,— to arrange. a declara-

tion] a letting forth : and so if in relation
to things past, a narration— history,
rarely believed] According to some, this

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292

ST. LUKE.

• HejMLj. surely believed among us, 2 "even as they delivered them
ljJhnYi: unto us, which bfrom the beginning were" eyewitnesses,
John xt. 27. and ministers of the word; 3 it seemed good to me also,

having * had perfect understanding of all things from the
oActti.1. very first, to write unto thee in order, cmost excellent
d John xx. n. Theophilus, 4 d that thou mightest know the certainty of

those c things, wherein thou d hast been instructed.

• M»tt.u.i. 5 There was ein the days of Herod, the king of Judaea,

D render, traced down. c render, sayings.

d render, wast.

word means fulfilled. But the A. V. Jias
the more likely rendering. Meyer would
render it, * which have found their com-
pletion among us* i.e. ' us of the apostolic
times ;' meaning ' Theophilus and him-
self' &c. among as, i. e. us Chris-
tians, you and me, and all members of the
Church of Christ— so also the unto us
in ver. 2. 2.] The Apostles, &c, deli-
vered these matters orally to the Churches
in their teaching (see below on ver. 4), and
others drew up accounts from that cate-
chetical instruction. It appears from this,
that St. Luke was not aware of any
narration drawn up by an eye-witness or
minister of the word. Their account of
these matters was a tradition, from which
the narrations were drawn up. He can-
not therefore have seen (or, having seen,
not recognized as such, which is highly
improbable) the Chspel of St. Matthew.
Compare 1 John i. 1 — 3. from the
beginning] Not, 'from the very begin-
ning,' i. e. the birth of the Lord, &c., but
from the official Beginning: see Acts i.
21 f. It differs from from the very first
below. eyewitnesses most probably
stands alone: but it may well be taken
with of the word (see below). minis-
ters, i. e. ministering servants — but in
connexion with from the beginning,
of the word— not, 'the personal word'
(i. e. Christ : so Orig., Athanasius, Cyril,
Euthym.) which would be altogether alien
from St. Luke's usage (see on Heb. iv. 12) :
but, the word, — 'the word preached:' —
we have the expression " the ministry (but
there diaconia) of the word" in Acts
vi. 4. 3. it seemed good to me also]
St. Luke by this classes himself with these
many, and shews that he intended no dis-
paragement nor blame to them, and was
going to construct his own history from
similar sources. The words which follow
imply however a conscious superiority of
his own qualification for the work. There
is here no expressed claim to inspiration,
but at the same time no disclaimer of it.

haying traced down] by research,
and so become accurately acquainted with.

from the very first — i. e. as in
ver. 5 ; — as distinguished from those who
only wrote of the official life of the Lord,
or only fragments perhaps of that,
in order] i. e. consecutively. By this
word we must not understand St. Luke .to
lay claim to any especially chronological
accuracy in writing ; — which indeed is not
found in his Gospel. He traced the events
in order as they happened: but he may
have arranged them as other considera-
tions led him. most excellent Theo-
philus] It is wholly unknown who this
person was. The name was a very com-
mon one. . The conjectures about him are
endless, and entirely without value. It
appears by the title given him, that he
was a person of dignity, and of course,
from ver. 4, he was a convert to Chris-
tianity. The idea of the name being
not a proper, but a feigned one, desig-
nating 'those who loved God' (found as
early as Epiphanius, and adopted again
recently), is far-fetched and improbable.

4. instructed] Theophilus had then
been orally instructed in the narratives
which form the subject of this Gospel:
and St. Luke's intention in writing it is,
that he might have a more accurate know-
ledge of these histories. The word means
literally, catechised, 'catechetically taught.'

those sayings] not, as in A. V., to
be rendered 'things: neither the Greek
nor the corresponding Hebrew word ever
has this meaning, as is commonly but
erroneously supposed. In all the com-
monly-cited examples of this, * things ex-
pressed in words' are meant: here the
histories,— accounts.

5—26.] Announcement by Gabbiel
ov the birth 07 John. Peculiar to
Luke. The style in the original now
totally alters and becomes Hebraistic, sig-
nifying that the following is translated or
compiled from an Aramaic oral narration,
or perhaps (from the very distinct charac-

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2—13.

ST. LUKE.

£93

a certain priest named Zacharias, f of the course of Abia :
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name
was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both * righteous before
God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances
of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because
that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were [• note] * well
stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass, that while he
executed the priest's office before God h in the order of his
course, 9 according to the custom of the priest's office, his
lot was * to burn incense when he went into the temple of
the Lord. 10 * And the whole multitude of the people
were praying without at the time of incense. n And
there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on
the right side of ! the altar of incense. 12 And when
Zacharias saw him, m he was troubled, and fear fell upon
him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Pear not, Za-
charias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth
shall bear thee a son, and n thou shalt call his name John.

e omit : not in the original.

f literally, far advanced in their days.

flChron.

xxIt. 10, 19.

Neh. xfl. 4,

17.
gGcn.Til.il

XtII.1.

1 King* lx. 4.
t King* xx.
I. Job 1.1.
Acta xxlli. 1
xx!t. 1ft.
Phil.iii.ft

hi Chron.
XXiT. 19.
S Chron. rlii.
14: xxxi.t.

i Exod. xxz. 7,

8. 18am.il.

S3. 1 Chron.

xxiii.lS.

S Cbron.

xxix. 11.
kLer.xri.17.

B4T.Tiii.ft,

1 Exod. xxx. 1.

m Jndg. Ti. 21 :
xlii.M. D»n.
x.8. TCT.19.
ch.ii.9.
▲etc x. 4.
Eer. i. 17.

nTer.ftO.ftft.

ter of these two first chapters) document,
5. of the course of ibia (AWjah)]
This was the eighth of the f our -and-twenty
courses of the priests (see ref. 1 Chron.).
These courses kept their names and order,
though not their descent, alter the cap-
tivity. The courses were of a week's
duration each. Elisabeth] This is

the Septuagint rendering, Exod. vi. 23, of
Elisheba, the wife of Aaron : signifying,
God (is my) oath : i. e. a swearer by, —
worshipper of, Qod. John was thus of
priestly descent by both parents. 9.1

This was the most honourable office which
was allotted among the priests each day,
and the same person could not serve it
more than once. the temple] the

holy place : see Heb. ix. 1—6, and Exod.
xxx. 7. An account of John Hvrcanus

the high priest having a vision at the time
of offering incense is given in Josephus :
see the extract in my Greek Testament.
There also we are told that the people were
outside (in the courts of the men and
women) :— their prayers were offered while
the incense was burnt, as the smoke was
symbolical of the ascent of prayer, Rev.
viii. 3, 4. It appears, from the allot-

ment having been just mentioned, to have
been the morning incense-burning. Theo-
phylact and others understand the whole
as describing the entry into the Holy of

holies on the great day of Atonement,
Levit. xvi. But this is manifestly an
error : for it would necessitate Zacharias
having been high priest, which he -never
was; and in this case there would have
been no casting of lots. 11.] the

altar of incense, Exod. xxx. 1, must not
be confounded with the large altar of
burnt-offering : that stood outside the holy
place, in the court of the priests. It was
during the sacrifice on the great altar that
the duly burning of the incense took place :
one of the two priests, whose lot it was
to offer incense, brought fire from off the
altar of burnt-offering to the altar of
incense, and then left the other priest
there alone, — who, on a signal from the
priest presiding at the sacrifice, kindled
the incense: see Exod. xL 5, 26.
This is no vision, but an actual angelic
appearance. The right is the favourable
side : see Matt. xxv. 33. " We must un-
derstand the right as regarded the offici-
ating priest, who stood with his face to the
altar. It would thus be on the N. side
of the holy place, where the table of shew-
bread stood, whereas on the S. side was
the golden candlestick/' Bleek. 13.]

He had then prayed for a son— but, as
appears below, long since — for he now had
ceased to look for an answer to his prayer.
Many Commentators have thought his

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294

ST. LUKE.

p Num. ▼!. S.
Judg. xlii. 4.

Oh.Tli.tt.

q Jer. 1. ft.

Oat. I. If.
rMaLtr.M-

■ Mal.W.f.
Mfttt.xl.14.
Mftrk iz. IS.

14 And 8 thou shalt have joy and gladness ; and ° many shall

rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight

of the Lord, and p shall drink neither wine nor strong

drink ; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, * even

from his mother's womb, 16 'And many of the children

of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. *7 • And he

shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to

turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the

disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a

people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto

• ctan.xTii.i7. the angel, l Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old

UM»2"x%i ' man> an<^ mv w^e hwell stricken in years. 19 And the

10. Hrb.i. gage} answering said unto him, I am u Gabriel, that stand

& better, he shall be to thee. n see on ver. 7.

prayer was for the salvation of Israel by
the appearance of the Messiah: but the
former view appears more probable.
John — i. e. God is favourable : we have
it under the form of Johauan, 2 Kings
xxv. 28 ; 1 Chron. iii. 24; 2 Chron. xzviii.
12. 14.] The words of the original

here may be rendered two ways — either
there shall be to thee, i. e. thou shalt
have, as A. V. : or, he shall be to thee,
... joy and gladness. 15. in the

tight of the Lord] signifying the spiritual
nature of his office and influence. The

priests were similarly prohibited to drink
strong drink ; and the Nazarites even
more rigidly. strong drink] the word
is sihera — * any strong liquor not made
from grapes.1 Wiclif readers, *he

schal not drynke wyne ne sidir.' he

•hall bo filled with the Holy Ghost is a
contrast to, and a reason for, the not
drinking wine nor strong drink : compare
Eph. v. 18. Olshausen and Meyer

think that (comparing ver. 44) the mean-
ing is, the Holy Spirit should in some
wonderful manner act on the child even
beforehis birth. But this is not necessary,
— nay, would it not rather be in this case .
"in his mother's womb . . . .?" The
from seems to fix the prior limit of the in-
dwelling of the Spirit, at his birth.
16.] The work of John was
one of preparation and turning men's
hearts towards God. For full notes on
his office, see on Matt. xi. It may

suffice here to repeat, that it was a con-
centration of the spirit of the law, whose
office it was to convince of sin: and
that he eminently represented the law and
the prophets in their work of preparing the
way for Christ. 17.] before hun—

i. e. " the Lord their God" manifest in the
flesh. De Wette denies this interpreta-
tion, as contrary to all analogy: and yet
himself explains* the expression bv saying
that what the Messiah does, is in Scrip-
ture ascribed to God as its doer (similarly
Meyer). But why! because Messiah is
God with us. This expression is besides
used (see Zech. xiv. 6) in places where the
undoubted and sole reference is to the
Messiah. in the spirit and power]

As a type, a partial fulfilment, of the per-
sonal coming of Elias in the latter days
(see note on Matt. xi. 18, 14). Bleek
remarks that it was not in the wonder-
working agency of Elias that John was
like him, for ' John did no miracle," — but
in the power of his uttered persuasion,
to turn . . . .] The first member onlv
of the sentence corresponds with Malachi.
The angel gives the exposition of the
second member, — which stands in the
LXX, " and the heart of a man towards
his neighbour" (in A. V. "and the heart
of the children to their f others ") x— for
of course that must be understood in the
better sense, of the good prevailing, and
the bad becoming like them. 18.]

The birth of John, involving human gene-
ration, but prophetically announced,' and
supernatural, answers to the birth of
Isaac in the O. T. But Abraham's faith
was a strong contrast to the unbelief of
Zacharias: see Rom. Iv. 19. an old

man] The Zevites (see Num. iv. 8 ; viii.
24, 25) became superannuated at the age
°* 'fifty : Du* H appears, by extracts from
the Rabbinical writings given by Light-
foot, that this was not the case with the
priests. 19. Gabriel] meaning, Man of
God : see Dan. viii. 16 ; ix. 21, also Tobit

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14-86.

ST. LUKE.

295

in the presence of God ; and * am sent to speak unto thee,
and to shew thee these glad tidings. 2° And, behold,
v thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day *l3*J£*1
that these things shall be performed, because thou kfo-
lievest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their
season. 21 And the people 1 wailed for Zacharias, and
marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 2a And
when he came out, he could not speak unto them : and
they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple :
mfor he n beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
28 And it came to pass, that, as soon as wthe days of hisw«*Jin,,«t
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own JB?hxo,Lix-
house. 2* And after ° those days his wife Elisabeth con-
ceived, and hid herself five months, saying, *5 Thus hath
the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on „

J xGen.xxx.t8.

me, to x take away my reproach among men. ™ And in ft^V8

1 render, was. k render, believedst.

1 render, were waiting. m render, and.

n render, was beckoning. ° render, these.

xii. 15. The names of the angels, say

the Rabbis, came up with Israel from
Babylon. We first read of both Michael
and Gabriel in the book of Daniel. Bnt
we are not therefore to suppose that they
were borrowed from any heathen system,
as Strauss and the rationalists have done ;
the fact being, that the persons and order
of the angels were known long before, and
their names formed matter of subsequent
revelation to Daniel. See Josh. v. 13—16.
that stand in the presence of God]
one of the chief angels near the throne of
God. They are called seven in Tobit, as
above. SO.] We must not consider

this dumbness solely as a punishment ; it
was also a sign, as Zacharias had required.
It is impossible for us to say what the
degree of unbelief in Zacharias was, and
therefore we can be no judges as to his
being deserving of the punishment (against
Straus* and the rationalists). and

not able to speak] This is not a repe-
tition, but an explanation of the ground
and reason of his silence. until the day
that these things shall be performed]
* What day ? tlurt of the birth and the
giving of the name/ Euthymius. 81.]

It was customary for the priest at the
time of prayer not to remain long in the
holy place, for fear the people who were
without might imagine that any vengeance
had been inflicted on him tor some in-
formality;— as he was considered the re-

presentative of the people. 22.] They

Knew, by some excitement, visible in his
manner. It was not his office to pronounce
the benediction, but that of the other in-
censing priest ; so that his ' not being able
to speak,' must mean, in answer to the
enquiries which his unusual appearance
prompted. This answer he gave by a
sign : and the question was also by signs;
for (see ver. 62) he was deaf, as well as
dumb, which indeed is the strict meaning
of the word used in the original. 28.

as soon as . . . .] The week during which
his course was on duty. Mr. Greswell, by
much elaborate calculation, has made it
probable, but only as one out of several
alternatives, that this week was Tisri
18-25, i. e. September 20- October 6, of
the sixth year before the Christian era,
A deaf and dumb person, we thus
see, was not precluded from some of the
priestly ministrations. 24, 25.] hid

herself— either, to avoid defilement: see
Judges xiii. 13, 14, — to hide her pregnancy
from her neighbours till it was certain and
apparent, — or, from the precaution which
the first months of pregnancy require.
Kuinoel suggests, that the reason may
have been, that she might devote herself
more uninterruptedly to exercises of de-
votion and thankfulness, and that this is
expressed by the words following. my

reproach] of barrenness : see reff.
26—88.] Announcement by the samk

Digitized by VjOOQIC

296

ST. LUKE.

y Matt. i. 18.
ch.li.4,6.

z Dan. ix. 88 :

x.10.
a Judg. ▼!. 18.

oTsa.Tli.14.
Matt. t. SI.

dch.il. II.

eMaxkT.7.

fS8am.vIl.ll
IS. Paxxxxii
11. Ita.lx.

5,7: xtI.B.
er. xxiii. 8.

Rev. Hi. 7.
g Dan. 11. 44s

vii. H, S7.

Obad.ll.

MlcahlT.7.

Johaxii.M.

Heb.1.8.
h Matt. ISO.

the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto
a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 2? to a virgin * espoused
to ax man whose Dame was Joseph, of the house of David ;
and the virgin's name was Mary* ^ And the angel came
in unto her, and said, * Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
a the Lord is with thee [4 : blessed art thou among women].
29 And [r when she saw him,~\ b she was troubled at his
saying, and " cast in her mind what manner of salutation
this should be. *° And the angel said unto hec, Fear not,
Mary : for thou hast found favour with God. 81 c And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth
a son, and d shalt call his name Jesus. 82 He shall be
great, e and shall be called the Son of the Highest : and
f the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father
David : S3 * and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ** Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I
know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said
unto her, h The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the

4 omitted by several of the ancient authorities r omit.

■ the word is rendered, mused, ch. v. 15 ; thought, ch. xii. 17 ; consider,
John xi. 50.

Angel of the Birth op Chbibt.
26.] in the sixth month— referring to the
"five months " in ver. 24. Naaareth]

In this particular the information of oar
Evangelist appears to be fuller than that of
St. Matthew, who seems not to be aware of
any residence at Nazareth previous to the
birth of our Lord : but see note on Matt,
ii. 22. 27.] of the house of David

refers to Joseph in this place, who (see
Matt, i.) was of the direct lineage of David.
That Mary was so, is nowhere expressed
in the Gospels, but seems to be implied in
ver. 32, and has been the general belief
of Christians. The Son of David was to
be the fruit of his body (Ps. cxxxii. 11);
which He would not be, unless His virgin
mother was of the house of David. See
notes on the genealogy in ch. iii. Still,
we must remember the absolute oneness
in the marriage relation, which might
occasion that Mary herself should be
reckoned as being in very deed that which
her husband was. Perhaps this has been
hardly enough taken into account.
28.1 highly favoured, not "full of grace,"
as the Vulgate : — the above is the meaning
of the original word in the only other
place where it occurs in the N. T., viz.

Eph. i. 6 (" made us accepted " A.V.). It
corresponds to "thou hast found favour
with God," ver. SO. 32. his father

David] Tliis announcement makes it almost
certain (still see. note above J that Maty
also was of the house of David. No asto-
nishment is expressed by her at this part
of the statement, and yet, from the nature
of her question, it is clear that she did not
explain it by supposing Joseph to be the
destined father of her child. See 2 Sam.
vii. 13 : Pa. lxxxix. 3, 4 : Isa. ix. 7 : Jer.
xxxiii. 15. 34, 35.] This question

differs from that raised by Zacharias above.
It is merely an enquiry after the manner
in which so wonderful a thing should take
place; not, how shall I know this?— to
takes for granted thai it shall be, and only
asks, Howl The Holy Ghost— the

creative Spirit of God, of whom it is said,
Gen. i. 2, that He "moved upon the face
of the waters" But as the world was not
created by the Holy Ghost, but by the
Son, so also the Lord was not begotten be
the Holy Ghost, but by the lather; and
that, before the worlds. "No more ii
here to be attributed to the Spirit, than
what is necessary to cause the Virgin to
perform the actions of a mother. .

Digitized by VjOOQIC

27—41.

ST. LUKE.

297

power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
!the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy * cousin Elisabeth, * "^":Sl^off,
she hath also conceived a son in her old age : and this is SSStJii
the sixth month with her, who u was called barren. 37 For gjjW. ^
kwith God y nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary koWxviiu*,
said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me JftSilSfft.
according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. S^fiA.
39 And Mary arose in ▼ those days, and went into the hill
country with haste, 'into a city of Juda; 4° and entered ^kf*19*
into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And

* render, kinswoman. * render, is called.

v render, no word. w render, these.

As Christ was made of the substance of
the Virgin, so He was not made of the
substance of the Holy Ghost, Whose es-
sence cannot at all be made. And because
the Holy Ghost did not beget Him by any
communication of His essence, therefore He
is not the Father of Him, though He were
conceived by Him." (Pearson on the
Creed, p. 165, 166.) shall overshadow
thee] The figure is perhaps from a bird
(as urotius: see .Ps. zci. 4), or from a
cloud : see Mark ix. 7. holy thing]

Some render, that which shall be born (of
thee) shall be called holy, the Son of Ood.
But it is more simple to take it as A. V.,
that holy thing, &c. 86. thy kins-

woman] What relation, nowhere appears
in Scripture ; and traditions are not worth
recounting. But we must take the word
in the narrower sense, not in the wider
reference of Rom. ix. 3. Elisabeth was of
the tribe of Levi : but this need not hinder
connexion by marriage with other tribes.
Aaron himself married into Judah, Exod.
vi 23. We find in Judges xvii. 7 a young
man of the family of Judah who was a
Levite. Philo says, "Moses ordered the
high priest to marry not only a virgin,
but one of priestly descent . . . but the
other priests were permitted to marry other
than the daughters of priests." 38.]

Her own faithful and humble assent is here
given to the divine announcement which
had been made to her. I believe that her
conception of the Lord is to be dated from
<he utterance of Ihese words. So Eu-
thymius, and similarly Iremeus, Tertnllian,
Athauasius, Maldonatus, Grotius. Light-
foot, holding a different opinion, says, "I
own, that %t is the general opinion, that
the Virgin conceived at Nazareth, in the
instant when the Angel spoke with her."
She was no unconscious vessel of the divine

will, but (see ver. 46), in humility and
faith, a fellow-worker with the purpose of
the Father; and therefore her own unity
with that purpose was required, and is
here recorded. 39 — 66.] Visitation

of Elibabbth bt Maby. 89.] v The

situation of Elisabeth was not before this
known to Mary; and on the intelligence
of it from the angel, she arose and went
to congratulate her kinswoman. But

before this the events related in Matt. i.
18—25 had happened. Mary being

betrothed to Joseph, had no communica-
tions with him, except through the brides-
maids ; who, on the first indications of her
pregnancy, represented it to him. This
would not take longer time than the ex-
pression might include — possibly three or
four weeks. Then happened Matt. i. 19,
20; and immediately Joseph took her
home. As a betrothed virgin she could
not travel: but now immediately, and
perhaps for the very reason of the cir-
cumstances under which Joseph had taken
her home, she visits Elisabeth — remaining
with her about three months, ver. 66. So
that we have, five months, during which
Elisabeth hid herself, together with the
sixth month, during which takes place
the Annunciation, the discovery of Mary's
pregnancy, her taking home by Joseph,
together with three months visit of Mary,
making up together nine months, nearly
her full time : see ver. 57. The words

rendered a city of Juda may possibly
mean " the city of Juttah," which (Josh,
xxi. 16) was given, together with Hebron
(in the hill country of Judrea : ib. ver. 11),
and other neighbouring cities, to the
children of Aaron the priest. But it

may also mean • a city of Juda;* and
this is perhaps more likely, as no place of
residence is mentioned for Zacharias in

Digitized by VjOOQIC

298

ST. LUKE.

m rer. 28.
Jndff.Y.U.

nlf

it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard x the salutation
4>f Mary, the babe leaped in her womb ; and Elisabeth was
filled with the Holy Ghost : 42 and she spake out with a
loud 1 voice, and said, m Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 4S And whence is
this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to
me ? ** For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation
sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb *for
joy. 46 And blessed is she that believed : for there shall
be a performance of those things which were told her
from the Lord. ^ And Mary said, n My soul doth magnify
^ the Lord, *7 and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
p..cxxxvi6. Saviour. 4<8 For °he hath regarded the low estate of his

z render for perspicuity (see note), Mary's salutation.

y literally, cry. * render, in exultation.

i.ii.1.

PS. XlXlT. «,

S: xxxv. 9.

Hab. ilL 18.

o 18*111.1.11,

ver. 28, — and one would hardly be intro-
duced bo abruptly here. It is not
Jerusalem; for that would hardly have
been described as in the hill country ; and
from vv. 23, 65, the Evangelist clearly in-
dicates some other place than Jerusalem
as the residence of the parents of John.
41.] The salutation uttered by
Elisabeth is certainly implied to have been
an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, No
intimation had been made to her of the
situation of Mary. The movement of the
babe in her womb (possibly for the first
time) was part of the effect of the same
spiritual influence. The known mysterious
effects of sympathy in such cases, at least
lead us to believe that there may be cor-
responding effects where the causes are of
sa kind beyond our common experience.

* The salutation of Mary' might be
taken to mean the Annunciation : better
therefore as in margin, Mary's salutation.

42.] The word rendered Blessed has
a double meaning : that of blessed,— from
above — blessed among women, i. e. beyond
other women ; and praised,— from below
— i. e. called blessed by women. The former
is the best rendering here : and then among
women will be the Hebrew superlative, as
in Jer. xlix. 15, and Song of Sol. i. 8.

48.] The word lord, as applied to
the unborn babe, can no otherwise be
explained than as uttered in the spirit of
prophecy, and expressing the divine nature
of our Lord : see especially Ps. ex. 1,
from which Bleek thinks the expression is
adopted. 45.] The words may be

rendered either as in A. V. (so also the
Vulgate, Erasmus, Beza, Meyer), blessed
is she that believed, for, &c— or as in

margin of A. V., blessed is she that be-
lieved that there shall be. The last is
maintained by Bengel and De Wettc, and
supported by Acts xxviL 25. I much

S refer the former rendering, as agreeable
kewise to the analogy of Scripture, where
faith, in the recipient of the divine purposes,
is so often represented as a co-ordinate cause
of the fulfilment of those purposes. Light-
foot well suggests, that there may have been
present to the mind of Elisabeth the unbelief
of her husband, as contrasted with Mary's
faith. 46 — 55.] Compare through-

out the song of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 1 — 10.
As connected with the defence of the
hymns contained in these two chapters, we
may observe, taking the very lowest ground,
that there is nothing improbable, as matter
of met, in holy persons, full of the thoughts
which run through the O. T. prophecies,
breaking out into such songs of praise as
these, which are grounded on and almost
expressed in the words of Scripture. The
Christian believer however will take a
higher view than this, and attribute to the
mother of our Lord that same inspiration
of the Holy Spirit which filled Elisabeth (ver.
41) and Zacharias (yer. 67). 46. My

soul ... my spirit] the whole inner being :
see on 1 Thess. v. 28. my Saviour]

not merely ' Deliverer from degradation,
as a daughter of David' — but, in a
higher sense, author of that salvation
which God's people expected: among
whom the Holy Virgin reckons herself.
Only sinners need a Saviour. 48.]

regarded, i.e. looked upon. Bleek re-
marks, that " look upon my son " in Luke
ix. 88, is uhaue mercy on my son"
in Matt. xvii. 15. low estate, or eon-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

42—63. ST. LUKE. 299

handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth Pall generations 'g^ii""*
shall acall me blessed. *® For he that is mifirhtv ''hath *p±J"iNs

0 * CXXTI. 3, 8.

done to me great things ; and rholy is his name. M And rPaoxL0-
•his mercy *is on them that. fear him from generation to •SXtfS.-fc
generation. 51 * He hath shewed strength with his arm; fa';01"17'
u he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their fgjjjff-.

ui. 10.

zzxiil. 10.

hearts. 5a v He hath put down *the mighty from their ^ii
seats, and exalted them of low degree. 63 w He hath filled t 1 Um.Vi,
the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent J1- *■•«*"•
empty away. w He hath holpen his servant Israel, * in wpJJXii'. w.
remembrance of his mercy 56 pas he spake to our fathers) #r- xxxi-*»
to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 56 And Mary abode y pT^Sii.n.
with her about three months, and returned to her own osTuiiia/
house. 5? Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should
be delivered ; and she brought forth a son. M And her
neighbours and her d cousins heard how the Lord had
shewed great mercy upon her; and *they rejoiced withiw.u.
her. 69 And it came to pass, that a on the eighth day they 'lSSJi.""
came * to circumcise the child; and they * called him Za-
charias, after the name of his father. 60 And his mother
answered and said, b Not so; but he shall be called John. bwl»-
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred
that is called by this name. 62 And they made signs to
his father, how he would have him called. 68 And he
asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, c His name is •«.«.

a literally, shall congratulate me, or account me happy.
b render and read, is unto generations and generations to them that
fear him.

c render, potentates from thrones. d render, kinsfolk.

e render, for the purpose of circumcising; to avoid the ambiguity in

came to. ' render, were calling.

dition, not humility ; the noun is an objec- were changed to Abraham and Sarah, —
five one. Ver. 55 is not rendered in Gen. xvii. B, 15. 60.] There is no
the A. V. according to the construction ; reason for supposing, with some Commen-
from Ps. xcvii. 3 it will be seen that in tators, that Elisabeth had had the name
remembrance of his mercy to Abraham snpernaturally intimated to her. She must
are to be joined together, and therefore necessarily have learnt it, -in the course of
at he spake to our fathers will be paren- communication by writing, from her hus-
thetical. See Micah vii. 20. 57—79.] band. 62.] The natural inference
Bibth and naming of John thb (see on ver. 22) from this verse is, that
Baptibt. 59.] they were calling— Zacharias was deaf as well as dumb ; nor
wished to call : the imperfeet tense is here do I think that the objectors have sue-
in its strict meaning, as in Matt. viii. 24. ceeded in invalidating this inference. There
The names of children were given at cir- could have been no reason for beckoning,
enmcision, because, at the institution of had Zacharias been able to hear articulate
that rite, the names of Abram and Sarai words. 68. a writing table] A

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800 ST. LUKE. I. 64-80.

dTw.». John. And they marvelled all. °* d And his mouth was

opened immediately, and his tongue [* loosed], and he

spake, and praised God. 65 And fear came on all that

dwelt round about them : and all these sayings were noised

fdSTii!Vfi. abroad throughout ail ethe hill country of Judaea. M And

SSn^1' all they that heard them 'laid them up in their hearts,
h j£?u!aS!' saying, What manner of child shall this be ! h And* the

Symb1.*' hand °f *ne Lord was with him. 6? And his father Za-
kKTxofm.i«s charias hwas filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied,

cxi'tch-Tii. saying, 681 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for khe
lmui?£lii.ll' nath visited and i redeemed his people, 60 l and hath raised

i)i»"*x. m. up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant
nK™'ivi.«. David ; 7° m as he spate by the mouth of his holy prophets,

ST.'iT^i! which have been since the world began : 71 that we should

jTi.ML%«. be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that
°2?S:Sx*xii. hate us; Wnto perform kthe mercy promised to our

It! it i7. eD" fathers, and to remember his holy covenant: 73 <>the oath

p Rom. ri. 18, . J

«. Heb.u. which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 that he would
q3£ Ski* grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of

L^Titu1?}' our enemies niight p serve him without fear, 75 q hi holiness

IP*.!'.?' and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
* jKlhl^ 76 1 Jin4 thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the

xi.i«. w. Highest : for 'thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to

& not in the original.

tt read, For also. * render, wrought redemption for.

k literally, mercy with our fathers. * read, Moreover.

tablet smeared with wax, on which they Ghost. It is entirely Hebrew in its cast
wrote with a style, or sharp iron point, and idioms, and might be rendered in that
they marvelled all] This also con- language almost word for word. It serves,
firms the view that Zacharias was deaf, besides its own immediate interest to
There would be nothing wonderful in his every Christian, to show to us the exact
acceding to hie tcife's suggestion, if he religious view under which John was
had known it : the coincidence, apparently educated by his father. 69.] an horn
without this knowledge, was the matter of — a metaphor from horned beasts, who are
wonder. 64.] For now first had the weak and defenceless without, but for-
angel's words, " thou shalt call his name niidable with their horns. There does not
John," ver. 13, received their fulfilment, seem to be any allusion to the horns of the
66. For alto . . . ] A remark inserted aWar— the mere notion of a refuge is
by the Evangelist himself, not a further never connected with the Messiah's King-
saying of the speakers in the verse before, dom. 74, 75.] The attempts to re-
us Kuinoel and others maintain. The for move the Jewish worship by Antiochus
refers back to the question just asked, Epiphanes and by the Romans, had been
' And they might well enquire thus, for ' most calamitous to the people. This
Ac. 68—79.] This Hymn of thanks- in holiness and righteousness sufficiently
giving appears to have been uttered at the refutes the idea of some, that the whole
time of the circumcision of the child (in subject of this song is the temporal theo-
which case the matters related in vv. 65, cratic greatness of the Messiah. 76.1
66 are parenthetical and anticipatory) — It is not necessary to interpret the Lord
and, as the Magnificat, under the imme- of the Messiah : it may be said of God,
diate influence of inspiration of the Holy whose people (ver. 77) Israel was. But

Digitized by VjOOQIC

II. 1.

ST. LUKE.

301

prepare his ways ; 77 to give knowledge of salvation unto
his people ■ m by the remission of their sins 78 n through the
tender mercy of our God; whereby the day spring from on
high hath visited us, 79 t ^ gjve light sfo them that sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet
into the way of peace. 80 And n the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, and T was in the deserts till the day of his
shewing unto Israel.

II. 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went

s Mark 1. 4.

eh. ill. 8.

Nam. xxiv.

17. Im.zI.

1. Zeoh.lli.

8: vi 12.

Mai. It. f.
t laa. ix. S :

xlii.7: xlix.

0. MatLiv.

10. Acts

xxrl. 18.
nch.il. 40.
v Matt. ill. 1:

xL7.

m render, in.

n render, on account of the bowels of mercy.

the believing Christian will find it far
more natnral thus to apply it, especially in
connexion with Matt. i. 21. 77.] in

remission, the element in which the former
blessing was to be conferred. The remis-
sion of sin is the first opening for the
knowledge of salvation : see ch. iii. 7.
78. dayspring] The springing up,
or, the Host, is in Jer. xxiii. 5, Zech. iii.
9, vi. 12, the LXX rendering for the
Hebrew word for a branch or sprout— and
thus, ' that which springs up or rises,' as
Light ;—which, from the clauses following,
seems to be the meaning here. from

on high may be taken with dayspring,
as in A. V. :— or perhaps with the verb to
give light. But however taken, the ex-
pression is not quite easy to understand.
The word had come apparently to be^ a
name for the Messiah : thus in Zech. iii.
9 (LXX. see above), behold a man, his
name is " the springing up," or " the East"
(the A. V. has the branch) : and then figures
arising from the meaning of the word
itself, became mixed with that which was
said of Him. The dayspring does not
come from on high, but from beneath the
horizon; but the Messiah does. Again,
to give light, Ac. of the next verse belongs
to the dayspring, and only figuratively
to the Messiah. 79.] Care must be

taken on the one hand not to degrade the
expressions of this song of praise into mere
anticipations of temporal prosperity, nor,
on the other, to find in it (except in so far
as they are involved in the inner and
deeper sense of the words, unknown save
to the Spirit who prompted them) the
minute doctrinal distinctions of the writ-
ings of St. Paul. It is the expression of
the aspirations and hopes of a pious Jew,
waiting for the salvation of the Lord, find-
ing that salvation brought near, and utter-
ing his thankfulness in Old Testament
language, with which he was familiar, and
at the same time under prophetic influence
of the Holy Spirit. That such a song

should • be inconsistent with dogmatic
truth, is impossible : that it should unfold
it minutely, is in the highest degree im-
probable, 80.] A very similar con-
clusion to those in ch. ii. 40, 52, and
denoting probably the termination of that
record or document of the birth of the
Baptist, which the Evangelist has hitherto
been translating, or perhaps transcribing
already translated. That this first
chapter is such a separate document,
appears from its very distinct style.
Whether it had been preserved in the
holy family, or how otherwise obtained by
St. Luke, no trace now appears. It has a
certain relation to, and at the same time
is distinguished from, the narration of the
next chapter. The Old Testament spirit
is stronger here, and the very phraseology
more in unison with Hebrew usage,
in the deserts] The hill country of Judsea
was very near this wilderness, and from
the character of John's official life after-
wards, it is probable that in youth lie
would be given to solitude and abstemious-
ness. It cannot be supposed that the
JEssenes, dwelling in those parts, had any,
or only the roost general kind of influence
over him, as their views were wholly different
from his. his shewing] i. e. the opening
of his official life : the same word is used of
the appointment of the seventy in ch. x. 1.
Chap. II. 1—20,] Bibth op Christ.
Its announcement and celebbation
by the hosts op heaven.
1, 2.] We go back again now to the birth
of John, or shortly after it. In an-
notating on these verses, I will first state
the difficulty in which they appear to be
involved, — then the remarkable way in
which a solution has recently been found.
The assertion in these verses is
this — that a decree went forth, Ac., and
that this enrolment first took place when
Oy renins (Quirinus) was governor of Syria.
It would then appear, either that this
very enrolment took place under Quirinus,

Digitized by UOO

gle

302

ST. LUKE.

II.

i. xvi. 1,

bl
4. John Til/
41.

cMaU.i.lO.

eh. i. V.
dM*tt.i.l8.

eh. 1. 27.

e Matt. 1. SB.

out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world
should be ° taxed. 2 [a P And] this * taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to
be ° taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also
went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto bthe city of David, which is called Beth-
lehem; c because he was of the house and lineage of
David : 5 to r be taxed with Mary d his espoused [n wife~\,
being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they
were there, the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered. 7 And e she brought forth her firstborn son,

0 render, enrolled. P omit : not in the original.

* render, enrolment. r render, enroll himself. " omit.

that the first did so, and this was
subsequent to it. Now both of these
senses till recently seemed to be inad-
missible. For Quirinus was not known
to have been governor of Syria till the
year of Borne 758, after the banishment of
Archelaus, and the addition of his territory
to the province of Syria. And the birth
of our Lord occurred at least eight years
before this, previous to Herod's death, and
when Sentius Satuminus was governor of
Syria. But it has been made highly
probable, by A. W. Zumpt of Berlin, that
Quirinus was twice governor of Syria.
The substance of his researches is given at
length in the note in my Greek Testament.
The result of it is, that Zumpt fixes the
time of his first governorship at from
b.c. 4 to B.C. 1. It is true this does not
quite remove our difficulty. But it brings
it within such narrow limits, that any
slight error in calculation, or even the
latitude allowed by the words was first
made might well cover it. I may mention
it as remarkable, that Justin Martyr
(Century 2) three times distinctly asserts
that our Lord was born under Quirinus,
and appeals to the register then made, as
if from it the fact might, if necessary, be
confirmed.

We conclude then, that an assessment
or enrolment of names with a view to as-
certain the population of the empire, was
commanded and put in force at this time.
It was unaccompanied (probably) by any
payment of money. We know that Augustus
drew up an account or summary ofthewhole
empire, which took many years to arrange
and complete, and of which the enrolment
of the inhabitants of the provinces would
naturally form a part. Of the data for
this compilation, the enrolment in our
text might be one. That Judsea was

not a Soman province at this time, is no
objection to our text ; for the compilation
of Augustus contained the " kingdoms" of
the Roman empire, as well as the pro-
vinces.

3 — 5.] There is a mixture here of Bo-
man and Jewish customs, which is not at
all improbable, considering the circum-
stances. In the Roman census, men,
women, and children were all obliged to go
and be enrolled. But then this census was
made at their dwelling-place, not at that
of their extraction. The latter practice
springs from the Jewish genealogical
habits, and its adoption in this case speaks
strongly for the accuracy of the chrono-
logy. If this enrolment was by order of
Augustus, and for the whole empire, it of
course would be made so as to include all,
after the Roman manner: but inasmuch
as it was made under the Jewish king
Herod, it was done after tie Jewish
manner, in taking this account of each at
his own place of extraction. Mary

being apparently herself sprung from the
lineage of David (see ch. i. 32), might on
this account go to Bethlehem, being, as
some suppose, an inheritress; but this
does not seem to be the Evangelist's mean-
ing, but that, after the Roman manner,
she accompanied her husband. No

stress must be laid on espoused, as if she
were only the betrothed wife of Joseph at
this time; — she had been taken to his
house before this : the history in our text
happening during the time indicated by
Matt. i. 25. 7.] Now that "first-

born" has disappeared from the text of
St. Matthew (i. 25), it must be here re-
marked, that although the term may un-
doubtedly be used of an only child, such
use is necessarily always connected with
the expectation of others to follow, and can

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2—14,

ST. LUKE.

808

and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger ; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, ■ keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And [" lo] t the angel of the Lord came upon them, and
the glory of the Lord shone round about them : and they
were sore afraid. 10 f And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
* which shall be to u all people. n h For unto you is born
this day in the city of David ! a Saviour, k which is Christ
the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you ; Ye shall
find v the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, ▼▼ lying in a
manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 ' Glory to God in the highest, and on earth m peace,

fch -l.lt,
»(
Matt, utIJL

]«. Murki.
lb. v rival.

>.f. Hi. ni».

47 Cot 1 33.
hi vi iid.
ilBair. i. in.
k Malt. 1.10:

«Tl. 1*

H.. I. «.
Act. ii, ?«:
*,«. Phil,
U 11.
1 eh. six. 88.
Eph. i.C:

ill. 10. ii.

Rav. v. IS.
m Ua- Mi. 10.
ch. i. 7».
Rom. T. 1.
Eph. ii. 17.
Col. 1. 10.

■ or, keeping the watches of the
M omit. * render, an.

v render, a babe.

no longer have place when the whole
coarse of events ifl before the writer and
no others have followed. The combina-
tion of this consideration with the fact,
that brethren of our Lord are brought
forward in this Gospel in close connexion
with His mother, makes it as certain as
any implied fact can be, that those brethren
were the children of Mary herself.
Ancient tradition states the birthplace of
onr Lord to have been a caves and this
tradition" is nOwise inconsistent with our
text— for caves are used in most rocky
countries as stables. the inn] i. e. a

public place of reception for travellers;
not < a room in a private house/ Of what
sort this inn was, does not appear. It
probably differs from that mentioned in
ch. x. 84, in not being kept by an host :
see note there. 8.] Mr. Greswell

has made it highly probable that our Lord
was born on the evening of (i.e. which
began) the 5th of April, the 10th of the
Jewish Nisan: on which same day of
April, and the 14th of Nisan, He suffered
thirty-three years after. Before this time
there would be abundance of grass in the
pastures — the spring rains being over:
but much after it, and till after the
autumnal equinox again, the pastures
would be comparatively bare : see note on
John vi. 10. * 9.] the glory of the Lord
— the brightness of God's presence— the
Shechinah (see reff.) which also accom-
panied His angels when they appeared to
men. It is agreeable at least to the ana-

night over their flock.

u render, all the people.
▼* read, and lying.

logy of the divine dealings, to suppose
that these shepherds, like Symeon, were
waiting for the consolation of Israel.
10, 11] to all the people, -i.e.
the Jewish people. To them was the first
message of joy, before the bursting in of
the Gentiles— just as here the one angel
gives the prefatory announcement, before
the multitude of the heavenly host burst
in with their proclamation of ' peace on
earth.' Christ the Lord] This is the

only place where these words come to-
gether. In ch. xxiii. 2 we have " Christ a
King," and in Acts ii. 86 "Lord and
King." (In Col. iii. 24 we have, in a
somewhat different meaning [said to ser-
vants], "ye serve the Lord Christ.")
And I see no way of understanding this
Lord, but as corresponding to the Hebrew
Jehovah. 13.] Olshausen hazards

a conjecture, that the stable or cave may
possibly have belonged to these shepherds.
But I think the words even unto, or as
far as to Bethlehem, ver. 15, do not look
as if Bethlehem were their home. It
seems clear that the spot was somehow
known to them by the angel's description.
Not "the babe," as A.V.;— the
angel, in giving the sign, generalizes the
term : they were to know the truth of his
words, by finding a child wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
14.] It has been disputed whether
Glory to God means There is, or Let there
be, glory to Chid. But there can be no
doubt that the sense of both these is

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304 ST. LUKE. II.

"ffdJFS!; w n 900& W%M tov>&r<l wen* 16 And it came to pass, *as the
Ter'BI* angels were gone away from them into heaven, J the shep-
herds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Beth-
lehem, and see * this thing which is come to pass, which
the Lord hath made known unto us. ]fl And they came
with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe
lying in a a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they
made known [■* abroad~\ D the saying which was told them
concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it
wondered at those things which were told them by the
shepherds. l9 But Mary kept all these c things, d and
pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds re-
turned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

°L«?:Sl!!i."" 31 °And when eight days were accomplished for the

p &tt"si, circumcising of e the child, his name was called p Jesus,
which was so ' named of the angel before he was conceived
in the womb.

* v^,£li*,, 22 And when q the days of % her purification according to
the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to

w read, among men of good pleasure : see note. x i.e. when.

7 many ancient authorities read, the men the shepherds.

1 render, this WOrd. a render, the. ** omit.

* render, concerning the saying. ° render, words.

d render, pondering. e read, him. f render, Called by.

£ read, their, with most of the ancient authorities : one has his ; but not one
has, "her."

included. among men of good Godhead (1 Pet. iii. 18). In the fulfil-
pleasure] This reading is found in the ment therefore of His great work of re-
greater part of the ancient authorities and demption, He became subject to legal rites
Fathers, including the Alexandrine, Vati- and purifications — not that they were ab-
can, and Sinaitic MSS. It does not mean, solutely necessary for Sim, but were in-
as the Roman Catholic interpreters gene- eluded in those things which were be-
rally explain it, "men of good will," — coming for Him, in His humiliation and
"those that like it," which would be un- 'making perfect:' and in His lifting up
tenable in Greek as well as in theology. The of that human nature, for which all these
only admissible rendering is, ' Among men . things were absolutely necessary (Gen.
of God's good pleasure,' i. e. among the xvii. 14), into the Godhead,
elect people of God. 19.] kept, in 28 — 38.] The Publication in the
her memory. words, viz. those Temple. Symeon and Anna recog-
spoken by the shepherds. nize and pbophesy op Him.

91.] His cibcumoision. The Lord 28.] See Lev. xii. 1—8, where however

was made like unto His brethren (Heb. ii. the child is not, as here, expressly included

17 > iv. 15) in all weakness and bodily in the purification. The reading his is

infirmity, from which legal uncleannesses remarkable, and hardly likely to have been

arose. The body which He took on a correction: "her," adopted by the A. V.,

Him, though not a body of sin, was is almost without authority, and is a

mortal, subject to the consequence of sin, manifest correction. Bengel denies

— in the likeness of sinful flesh: but that either the Lord or His mother

incorruptible by the indwelling of the wanted purification; and mentions that

Digitized by VjOOQIC

15—33. ST. LUKE. 305

Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord ; ^ as it is written
in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that openeth the 'SSSjJ11-11
womb shall be called holy to the Lord ; ** and to offer a §5£ uSisi
sacrifice according to* that which is said in the law of the § "^ ^ '
Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 26 And *
behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was
Symeon; and the same man was just and devout, * waiting t5£rJ1£.48.
for the consolation of Israel : and the Holy Ghost was *"**■
upon him ; 26 and it h was revealed unto him by the Holy
Ghost, that he should not "see death, before he had seennPi-inxix.

J 48. Heb. zl.

the Lord's Christ. 2? And he came v i by the Spirit into yJutt^.x.
the temple : and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 then
took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, wnow lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, wgffi; dis-
according to thy word: 3° for mine eyes xhave seen thy xgj-,}£-N-
salvation, 81 which thou hast prepared before the face of
all people; 82*a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the y Sit a:'1
glory of thy people Israel. *& And k Joseph and his mother jt t!^M«S^'
marvelled at those things which were spoken * of him. SJiif :«.

h render, had been. * literally, in.

fc read, his father and mother, as most of the ancient authorities, and the
express testimony of Origen.

* render for perspicuity, concerning.

some render .their 'of the Jews' but does It was a common form of adjuration

not approve of it (John ii. 6 is certainly no among the Jews, " So may I see consola-

case in point). See the last note, on the tion, \f&c." referring to Isa. xl. 1.

necessity of purification for both. On the general expectation of deliverance

88.] Qod had taken the tribe of Levi at this time see on Matt. ii. 1 ff.

instead of the firstborn that openeth the 26.1 Of the nature of this intimation,

womb, Num. iii. 12, and required only the nothing is said. Symeon was the subject

excess in number of the firstborn over the of an especial indwelling and leading of

Levitea to be redeemed (ib. w. 44 — 51). the Holy Ghost, analogous to that higher

This arrangement appears afterwards to form of the spiritual fife expressed in the

have been superseded by a general com- earliest days by walking with Qod — and

mand to redeem all the firstborn at five according to which God's saints have often

shekels of the sanctuary (Nam. xviii. 15, been directed and informed in an extra-

16). 94.] The offering (ref. Lev.) ordinary manner by His Holy Spirit. In

was, a lamb for a burnt-offering, and a the power of this intimation, and in the

pigeon for a sin-offering: but if the spirit of prophecy consequent on it, he

parties were too poor to bring a lamb, came into the Temple on this occasion,
then two pigeons. But we are not hereby 20.] lettest thou depart, not from

justified in / assuming extreme poverty to life, or out of the earth, — but as being thy

have been the condition of our Lord's servant, he thinks of his death as the ter-

family. This no where appears from the mination of, and so dismissal from, his'ser-

Gospel history. 26.] It appears vitude. 82.] See Isa. xlix. 6. The

that this Symeon might have been Symeon general term of the last verse, — all the

the son of Hillel,— and father of Gamaliel, peoples (so literally), is here divided into

mentioned in Acts v. 84 ff. But we have two, the Gentiles, and Israel. 88.

no means of ascertaining thb. the his father] In ver. 48 we have Joseph

consolation of Israel] See Acts xxviii. 20. again called by this name. Our Lord
Vol. I. X

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306

ST. LUKE.

SlM.TiU.14.

Ho».xiv.«.

Matt zxl.44,

Rom. Ix. SI.

SB. I Cor. I.

SS.S4. 2 Cor.

il. 10. I Pet.

U. 7t a.
a Aota xxtUI.

tf.
bPi.xlil.10.

e Acts xxrl. 7.
1 Tim. ▼. 0.

d Mark xr. 48.

T«T. t6. Ch.
XXiT.SL

84 And Symeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his
mother, Behold, this child is set for the * fall and rising
again of many in Israel ; and for a * sign which shall be
spoken against ; 35 yea, b a sword shall pierce through thy
own soul also ; that m the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. 86 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser : she was nof a
great age, and had lived with an husband seven years
from her virginity; s? and she was a widow of about
fourscore and four years, which departed not from the
temple, but served [° God] with fastings and prayers
c night and day. S8 And she P coming in that instant gave
thanks likewise unto 4 the Lord, and spake of him to all
them that d looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

30 And when they had performed all things according

render, reasonings out of many hearts.
literally, far advanced in many days.

omit : not in the original.

render, coming in at the same hour. 4 read, God.

Himself would not speak of him thus, see
ver. 49 ; but in the simplicity of the nar-
rative we may read hi* parents, and such
expressions, without any danger of for-
getting the momentous history of the
Conception and Nativity. 84. J fall, as a
stone of stumbling and rock of offence
(see references), at which they should
tall through unbelief. rising again,

— or, rising up— in the sense of ch. i.
62— by faith and holiness; or, the fall
and ruing up may refer to the same per-
sons ; as it is said by our Lord, ' He that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.' I
prefer this last interpretation, as cohering
best with the next verse : see note on it.
86.] This prophecy I do not believe
to here its chief reference to the deep
sorrows of the mother of our Lord on
beholding Sis sufferings, much less to her
future death by martyrdom; least of all
to the Crucifixion, which by shedding- the
blood of her Son, would also pierce her
heart and drain it of its life-blood and
make it childless. None of these interpre-
tations satisfy us : for the words stand in
a totally different connexion, and one far
worthier of the honour of that holy
woman, and of the spiritual character of
Symeon's prophecy: that prophecy is, of
the struggle of many in Israel through
repentance to faith in this Saviour ; among
which number even Sis mother herself
was to be included. The sharp pangs of

sorrow for sin must pierce her heart also
(cf. esp. Acts ii. 87) ; and the general end
follows; that reasonings out of many
hearts mag be revealed; that they who
receive the Lord Jesus may be manifest,
and they who reject Him : see John ix. 89.
We may find moreover, in the traces of her
connexion with our Lord in the Evangelic
history, the piercing and dividing of her
soul, and in the last notice of her in Acts i.,
the triumph of her faith after the Ascen-
sion. 37. fastings and prayers] Not
merely in the ordinary hours of prayer, at
nine, and three, or the ordinary fasts on
Monday and Thursday, but in an ascetic-
devotional method of life. night is
said to be put first, because fasts were
reckoned from one evening to another. Is
it not rather because the greater solemnity
and emphasis rests on the religious exercise
by night ? 88.] It was possibly at
the hour of prayer ; as she spoke of Him
to numbers, who would at such a time be
flocking to the temple.

89, 40.] Rbtubh to Nazabeth.
89.] Certainly the obvious inference from
this verse is, that Joseph and Mary re-
turned from Jerusalem to Nazareth direct.
But it is only an inference, and not the
assertion of the text. This part of the
Gospel History is one where the Harmo-
nists, by their arbitrary reconcilements of
the two Evangelistic accounts, have given
great advantage to the enemies of the

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34—44.

ST. LUKE.

307

to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their
own city Nazareth. *° • And the child grew, and waxed • »« ,M^
strong [4 in spirit,] r filled with wisdom : and the grace of
God was upon * Aim.

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem f every year atfExod.xxiii.
the feast of the passover. *3 And when he was twelve J^fff*
years old, * they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of
the feast. ^ And when they had fulfilled the days, as they
returned, the u child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem;
and v Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ** But they,
supposing him w to have been in the company, went a day's

* omit. r render, becoming filled. ■ literally, it.

t read and render, and they went up after the custom of the feast,
and had fulfilled the days, . . .

u render, boy or youth : the word has been the diminutive hitherto, but now
ceases to be.

v many ancient authorities have, his parents. w render, to be.

faith. Am the two accounts now stand, it
is wholly impossible to suggest any satis*
factory method of uniting them; every one
who has attempted it has, in some part or
other of his hypothesis, violated proba-
bility and common sense. Bat, on the
other hand, it is equally impossible defi-
nitely to say, that they could not be recon-
ciled by a thorough knowledge of the facts
themselves ; and snch an assertion, when-
ever made, shews great ignorance of the
origin and coarse of oral narration. How
many things will a relator say, being on-
aware of certain important circumstances
outside his narrative, which seem to pre-
clude those circumstances? How often
will points of time be apparently brought
close together in such a narration, —
between which, events most weighty to
the history have occurred ? The only
inference from these two accounts, which
is inevitable, is, that they are wholly
independent of one another. If St. Luke
had seen the Gospel of St. Matthew, or
vice versa* then the variations are utterly
inexplicable ; and the greatest absurdities
of all are involved in the writings of those
who assume this, and then proceed to
harmonize. Of the dwelling at Nazareth
before the Nativity, of the circumstances
which brought Joseph and Mary to Beth-
lehem, of the Presentation in the temple,
St. Matthew's account knows nothing;
of the visit of the Magi, the murder of
the Innocents, the night to Egypt, St.
Luke's is unaware. In all the main cir-
cumstances of the Conception and Nativity
they agree, or are easily and naturally

reconciled (see further in note on John
vii. 42). 40.] grew— in body— waxed

strong, in spirit : the addition of these
words to the text was a correct gloss.
''The body advances in stature, and the
soul in wisdom . . . the divine nature re-
vealed its own wisdom in proportion to
the measure of the bodily growth," Cyril.
becoming filled : see ver. 52 and
note there.

41—52.] Vi8iT to the Temple at
the Passoveb. The history of thiB in-
cident serves for an example of the wisdom
wherewith the Child was becoming filled.
" The Evangelist next shows that what he
has said is true," Cyril. 41.] See

Exod. xxiii. 14—17. Women, according
to the maxims of the school of Hillel, were
bound to go up once in the year — to the
Passover. 42.] At the age of twelve,

a boy was called by the Jews ' son of the
law,* and first incurred legal obligation.
At that time, then, commences the second
step (see note on ver. 62) of the life of the
Lord, the time when the things becoming
for Him began; his course of blameless
legal obedience (see note on ver. 21) in his
own person and by his own will. Now
first (ver. 49) appear those higher con-
sciousnesses to have found expression, which
unfolded within Him, till the roll time of
his public ministry arrived. It cannot be
inferred from this narrative, that it was
the first time the holy Child had accom-
panied them to the Passover, 43.]
the days, seven days, Exod. xii. 15, 17.
44.] the company forming the cara-
van, or band of travellers ; — all who came
2

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308

ST. LUKE.

II.

journey ; and they x sought him among their kinsfolk and
acquaintance. ** And when they found him not, they turned
back again to Jerusalem, J seeking him. ^ And it came to
pass, that after three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and

f JJSJm* asking them questions. *7 And *all that heard him were
M-'jiSvu. astonished at his understanding and answers. ^ And
when they saw him, they were amazed : and his mother
said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me ?

h John u. 10. wist ye not that I must be ■ about h my Fathers business ?

x render, sought him every where.
y render, seeking him every where.
1 render, among my Father's matters.

from the same district travelling together
for security and company. The in-

terpretation that * they went a day* a jour-
ney, seeking him,' is dimply absurd : for
they would have turned back sooner: a
few minutes might have sufficed for the
search. It was not till they laid up for
the night that they missed him, as at that
time they would naturally expect his return
to their own tent. Olshausen remarks,
that being accustomed to His thoughtful-
ness and obedience, they were free from
anxiety, till they discovered He really was
not in the company. 45. seeking

him every where] as they went back, all
the way. 46.] Some interpret the

three days, of their one day's journey out,
one hack, and one in Jerusalem : but they
were more likely three days spent in search
in Jerusalem ; or, at all events, reckoned
from their discovery of His not being with
them. in the temple] In one of the

rooms attached to the temple, where the
Rabbis taught their schools. No stress
must be laid on in the midst ; it is only
among. Nor must it be supposed from
asking them questions that our Lord was
acting the part of a master. It was the
custom in the Jewish schools for the
scholars to asJc questions of their teachers ;
and a great part of the Rabbinical books
consists of the answers of the Rabbis to
such questions. 48 — 60.] The salient

point of this narrative appears to lie in
thy father contrasted with my Father.
This was the first time that those wonder-
ful words of self-consciousness had been
heard from the holy Child— when He
began to be " a son of the law," He first
calls Him His Father, Who gave Him the

work to do on earth, of perfectly keeping
that Law. 'Every word of these verses

is of the first importance to modern com'
batants for sound doctrine. Let the ad-
versaries answerus, — why should his mother
here have spoken, and not Joseph, unless
there were some more than usual reason
for her being put forward rather than his
reputed father ? Again, let the mythical
school of Strauss give us a reason, why an
incident altogether (in their view) so de-
rogatory to the character of the subject
of it, should have been inserted, if the
myths arose out of an exaggerated esti-
mate of the dignity of that character ?

thy father] Then up to this time
Joseph had been so called by the holy
Child Himself : but from this time, never.
Such words are not chance; had Mary
said "toe," the strong contrast with what
follows could not have been brought out.

How is it that ye sought me 1] i. e.
. . . what (reason) is there, that . . .
This is no reproachful question. It is
asked in all the simplicity and boldness of
holy childhood . . . « did ye not know ? \ . .
it appeared as if that conviction, the ex-
pression of which now first breaks forth
from Him, must have been a matter
known to them before. I must] This

is that must, so often used by our Lord
of His appointed and undertaken course.
Analogous to this first utterance of His
conviction, is the dawn, amongst ourselves,
of the principle of duty in the youthful
and well-trained spirit about this same
age, — this 'earing time* of human pro-
gress : see below on ver. 52. among
my Father's matters] primarily, in the
house of my Father; but we must not

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45—52.

ST. LUKE.

309

50 And ! they understood not the saying which he spake l c*rf$-£

unto them. 6l And he went down with them, and came to

Nazareth, and was subject unto them : a but his mother

k kept all these sayings in her heart. 62 And

'increased in D wisdom and stature, and in favour with n gun. u.«.

God and man.

Jesus k?«f. lo.

a read, and.

D or it may be, wisdom as well as age : see note.

exclude the wider sense, which embraces
all places and employments of my lather's.
The employment in which lie was found,
learning the word of God, would naturally
be one of these. they understood not J
Both Joseph and His mother knew in
some sense, Who He was : but were not
prepared to hear so direct an appeal to
God as His Father : understood not the
deeper sense of these wonderful words.
Still (ver. 61) they appear to hajre awa-
kened in the mind of His mother a remem-
brance of "He shall be catted the Son of
Qod" ch. i. 35. And probably, as Stier
remarks, the unfolding of His childhood had
been so gradual and natural, that even
they had not been forcibly reminded by
any strong individual notes, of that which
He was, and which now shewed itself.
It is a remarkable instance of the
blindness of the rationalistic Commentators
to the richness and depth of Scripture
narrative, that they hold this understood
not to be altogether inconceivable, as
coming after the angelic announcement to
Mary. Can they suppose, that she under-
stood that announcement itself? The
right interpretation is, they understood not
the deeper sense : see ch. zviii. 34.
51.] The high consciousness which had
manifested itself in ver. 49 did not inter-
fere with His self-humiliation, nor render
Him independent of His parents. This
voluntary subjection probably shewed itself
in working at his reputed father's trade :
see Mark vi. 2 and note. From this

time we have no more mention of Joseph :
the next we hear is of Hi* mother and
brethren (John ii. 12) : whence it is in-
ferred that, between this time and the
commencement of our Lord's public life,
Joseph died. and his mother kept . . . ]
These words tend to confirm the common
belief that these opening chapters, or at
least this narrative, may have been de-
rived from the testimony of the mother
of the Lord herself. She kept them, as
in wonderful coincidence with the remark-
able circumstances of His birth, and its
announcement, and His presentation in
the temple, and the offerings of the Magi ;

but in what way, or by what one great
revelation, all these things were to be
gathered in one, did not yet appear, but
was doubtless manifested to her after-
wards : see Acts i. 14 ; ii. 1. 52.]
The Greek word rendered stature means
not only that (as in ch. xix. 3), but age
(see Matt. vi. 27, where the word is the
same, and note), which comprehends the
other. During these eighteen mys-
terious years we may, by the light of what
is here revealed, view the holy Child ad-
vancing onward to that fulness of wisdom
and divine approval which was indicated
at His Baptism, by " in thee I am well
pleased." We are apt to forget, that it
was during this time that much of the
great work of the second Adam was done.
The growing up through infancy, child-
hood, youth, manhood, from grace to
grace, holiness to holiness, in subjection,
self-denial, and love, without one polluting
touch of sin, — this it was which, con-
summated by the three years of active
ministry, by the Passion, and by the Cross,
constituted* " the obedience of one man,"
by which many were made righteous. We
must fully appreciate the words of this
verse, in order to think rightly of Christ.
He had emptied Himself of His glory:
His infancy and childhood were no mere
pretence, but the Divine Personality was
in Him carried through these states of
weakness and inexperience, and gathered
round itself the ordinary accessions and
experiences of the sons of men. All the
time, the consciousness of his mission on
earth was ripening; 'the things heard of
the Father ' (John xv. 15) were continu-
ally imparted to Him ; the Spirit, which
was not given by measure to Him, was
abiding more and more upon Him; till
the day when He was fully ripe for his
official manifestation,— that He might be
offered to his own, to receive or reject
Him, — and then the Spirit led Him up to
commence his conflict with the enemy.
As yet, He was in favour with man also :
the world had not yet begun to hate
Him; but we cannot tell how soon this
feeling towards Him was changed, for

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310

ST. LUKE.

III.

III. * Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius

Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod

being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch

ajohnxi *, °^ I^rca an<l °^ the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias

aou'w!1^*' the tetrarch of Abilene, a a Annas and Caiaphas being the

was only Procurator of Judaea : the word
governor being used promiscuously of the
leading officers of the Roman government.
Pontius Pilate was the sixth procurator
from the deposition of Archelaus, and came
to Judaea about the year of Rome 779.
He held the province ten years, and was
sent to Rome to answer for his conduct
by Vitellius, prefect of Syria, in 789, the
Tear of the death of Tiberius. See chrono-
logical table in the Introduction to the
Acts. Herod] See note on Matt.

xiv. 1. Heeod Antipas became tetrarch
of Galilee after the death of his father
Herod, in the year of Rome 750, and con-
tinued till he was deposed in 792.
Philip] Son of Herod the Great by Cleo-
patra, a woman of Jerusalem. He waa
brought up at Rome, and after bis
father's death in 750, was made tetrarch of
BatansBa, Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, Panias,
Auranitis (Batansea and Auranitis make
up Ituraea), and continued till his death in
786 or 787. He built Casarea Philippi.
He was by far the best of Herod's sons, and
ruled his portion mildly and weiL He must
not be confounded with Ms half-brother
Philip, whose wife Herodias Herod Antipaa
seduced. This latter was disinherited by his
father, and lived in privacy. See note on
Matt. xiv. 1. Lysanias the tetrareh

ef Abilene] Abiijeve, the district round
Abila, a town eighteen miles north of
Damascus, now, according to Pococke, Nebi
Abel. It must not be confounded with
Abila in Decapolis. Josephus mentions it
as among the districts which Claudius gave
to king Agrippa I. under the name of Abila

He alleges John vii. 7), " Me the world
hateth, because I testify of it that its
deeds are evil ;" and we can hardly con-
ceive such testimony, in the years of
gathering vigour and zeal, long withheld.
The incident of cb, iv. 28, 29 can scarcely
have arisen only from the anger of the
moment.

Chap. III. 1—22.] Preaching* and
Baptism op John. Divine testimony
to Jesus at His Baptism. Matt. iii.
1—17. Mark i. 4—11. L] These
dates are consistent with the accurate
tracing down which St. Luke predicates
of himself, ch. i. 3. In Matt. iii. 1 we have
the same events indicated as to time by
only " In those day*." The fifteenth
year of the sole principate of Tiberius
began Aug. 19, in the year of Rome 781,
and reckoning backwards thirty years from
that time (see ver. 23), we should have
the birth of our Lord in 751, or about
then; for "about thirty" will admit of
some latitude. But Herod the Great died
in the beginning of the year 750, and our
Lord's birth must be fixed some month* at
leatt before the death of Herod. If then
it be placed in 749, He would have been
at least thirty-two at the time of His
baptism, seeing that it took place some
time after the beginning of John's minis-
try. This difficulty has led to the supposi-
tion that this fifteenth year is not to be
dated from the *ole, but from the associated
principate of Tiberius, which commenced
most probably at the end of 764. Accord-
ing to this, the fifteenth of Tiberius will
begin at the end of 779 — and our Lord's
birth would be 749 or 750: which will
agree with the death of Herod. This
latter explanation has usually been adopted.
Our present era was fixed by Dionysius
Exiguus, in the sixth century, and places
the birth of our Lord in 764. It msv be
doubted, however, whether in all these
reckonings more accuracy has not been
sought than the Gospel narrative warrants
any expectation of our finding. The " about
thirty" is a wide expression, and might
cover any age from thirty (see note on
ver. 23) to thirty -two or thirty-three.
See on Matt. ii. 2, where it appears pro-
bable from astronomical considerations,
that our Lord was born as early as u.c.
747. Pontius Pilate ] Pilate

of Lysanias, and in another place as the
Kin

torn called that of Lysanias. See
further in note in my Greek Testament.
It seems to have been a district patrimo-
nially in possession of rulers bearing, thia
name. 2.] Annas (Ananns, Josephus)

the high priest, was deposed by Valerius
Gratus (in the year of Rome 779), and
after several changes, Joseph or Caiaphas,
his son-in-law (John xviii. 13), was made
high priest. It would appear from thia
verse (and the use of the singular — see
margin — renders the inference more strin-
gent. Compare also St. Luke's own phrase,
Acts iv. 6) that Annas, as ex-high priest,
and possibly retaining in the view of the
Jews the legitimate high priesthood, waa

Digitized by VjOOQ

1—14. ST. LUKE. . 311

0 high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of

Zacharias in the wilderness. 8 And he came into all the

country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance

bfor the remission of sins; 4 as it is written in the book of bch.L?7.

the words of Esaias the prophet, [d saying,"] c The voice of one o i.a. xl •.

crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight. 6 Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and

the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways

shall be made smooth ; 6 and d all flesh shall see the salva- d££,xj£ig*-

tion of God. 7 e Then said he to the multitude that came *•«•»■"

forth to be baptized of him, O * generation of vipers, who

hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 Bring

forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not

to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father :

for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to

raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe

is laid unto the root of the trees: • every tree therefore •«•'*• ▼»*."•

which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and

cast into the fire. 10 And the % people asked him, saying,

fWhat ft shall we do then? n He answereth and saithfAct.u.w.

unto them, * He that hath two * coats, let him impart to *s»».xt.4i. „

7 . iOor.vtti.14.

him that hath none ; and he that hath meat, let him do f Jmf &?
likewise. 12 Then hcame also publicans to be baptized, hiiktTJiS:
and said unto him, Master, what ft shall we do ? 18 And he
said unto them, 'Exact no more than that which is «<*•***• *•
appointed you. u And [J the] soldiers likewise demanded

0 the word is t* the singular number, high priest. * omit.

e render, He said therefore. f render, offspring.

ff render, multitudes. *■ render, must.

* literally, tunics : it is the inner garment. J omit.

counted still as having the office : he cer- copy. 7 — 9.] Matthew, w. 7 — 10. John's
tainly (John xviii. 13) exercised the power, speech is verbatim as Matthew, except that
— and had influence enough to procure the fruits is singular, and " think not " in Mat-
actual high priesthood tor five of his sons, tbew is begin not in Luke. This indicates a
after his own deposition, Jos. Antt. xx. 9. common origin of this portion, which how-
1. A substitute, or deputy to the high ever is still thus slightly deflected ; and
priest (called by the Talmuoists Sagan), let it be borne in mind that the slighter
appears to have been usual, — see 2 Kings the deflection, the more striking the inde-
xxv. 18 ; and Annas would thus be able to pendence of the Evangelists. 8. begin
evade the Roman appointment, and keep not to say] He cuts off even the attempt
the authority. the word of God to excuse themselves. 10 — 14.] Pecu-

__ .] See John i. 38. 8—6.] liar to Luke. 10.] Olshausen refers

Matt. Hi. 1. Mark i. 4* where see note on to the answer to a similar question under

the baptism of repentance. 5, 6.] the N. T. dispensation, Acts ii. 87. See

are peculiar to Luke. They are nearly also Acts xvi. 30; xxii. 10. Deeds- of

verbatim from the LXX in the Alexandrine justice and charity are the very first fruits

•

31fc ST. LUKE. III.

of him, saying, And what k shall we do ? And he said unto
kSIuJ?ij*J. fchem> Do violence to no man, k neither accuse any falsely;
"' and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people

were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts
of John, whether he were the Christ, or not ; 16 John
answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with
water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose : he shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost and with fire : W whose fan is in
1 MrtfSiLsb. k*s nand> an<l ne will throughly purge his floor, and * will
gather the wheat into his garner ; but the chaff he will
burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things
in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But
Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by Jiim for Herodias
his kk brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod
had done, 2° added yet this above all, that he shut up John
in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying,
the heaven was opened, 2'2 and the Holy Ghost descended
in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came
from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in
thee I am well pleased. ** And Jesus himself 1 began to be

k render, must. tt read, brother's.

1 render, was about thirty years of age when he began [his minis-

try].

of repentance ; see Micah vi. 8. 12.1 of John's boldness in rebuking Herod, with

publicans, see on Matt. v. 46. 14. J this slight variation, that whereas in Mark

soldiers— properly, men on march: bat Herod heard him gladly, and did many

this need not be pressed, only that they things in consequence, here the rebuke for

were soldiers serving in an army. Who general profligacy seems to have contri-

these were, we have no means of deter- buted to his imprisonment. These ac-

mining. Certainly not soldiers of the army counts however, though perfectly distinct,

which Herod Antipas sent against Aretas, are by no means inconsistent. The same

his father-in-law : — see notes on Matt. xiv. rebukes which stung Herod's conscience

1 ff. neither acouse any falsely] The and aided the desire to imprison John,

way in which soldiers would be likely to might work on that conscience, and cause

act the part of informers, would be by the wish to hear more from the man of

laying vexatious charges of disaffection God. Vv. 19, 20 are t» anticipation of what

against persons. 15—17.] Ver. 15 is follows ; which is in St. Luke's manuer ;

peculiar to Luke, but is equivalent to see ch. i. 80. £1, 22.1 Matt. iii. 13 —

John i. 19—25. in expectation,— 17. Mark i. 9— 11. St. Luke's account is

i. e. that John would declare himself. much more concise than usual, and wholly

10, 17.] Matt. iii. 11, 12. Mark i. 7, 8. independent of the others ; see note on

John i. 26, 27. The four accounts are cog- Mark i. 10 : we have here however three

nate, but vary in expression and arrange* additional particulars — 1. that all the

ment : ver. 17 is nearly verbatim as Mat- people had been bapiited before the Lord's

thew. latchet] the lace, or thong baptism : 2. that He woe praying at the

with which the sandal was fastened. time of the descent of the Spirit : 8. that

18—20.] Luke only : containing the cor- the Spirit appeared in a bodily form. On

roborahon of the account in Mark vi. 20 (8), see note at Matt iii. 16, § 2.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

15—26.

ST. LUKE.

813

m about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) B the *
son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, &* which was the ,
son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the
son of Melchi, which was the son of Jannee, which was
the son of Joseph, ** which was the son of Mattathias,
which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum,
which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Naggse,
26 which was the son of Maath, which was the son of
Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the

i tee Num. It.
8. 8ft, IS, 4ft.

lUtt.xiU.tt.
John tL U.

23—88.] Genealogy of oub Lobd.
Peculiar to Luke. 98.] Jerai wm

about thirty years old whoa Ho began
(His ministry) : not, as A. V. 'began to be
about/ Ac., which is ungrammatical. This
is the interpretation of Origen, Euthymius,
and the best commentators. See Acts. i. 1.
This about thirty admits of con-
siderable latitude, but only in one direc-
tion ; viz. over thirty years. He could not
well be under, seeing that this was the
appointed age for the commencement of
public service of God by the Levites ; see
reference to Numbers. If no other

proof were in existence of the total inde-
pendence of the present Ooepele of St, Mat-
thew and 8t. Luke, their genealogie* would
furnish what I conceive to be an unde-
niable one. Is it possible that either of
these Evangelists could have set down his
genealogy with that of the other before
him? Would no remark have been made
on their many, and (on such a supposition)
unaccountable variations ? It is quite be-
side the purpose of the present Commen-
tary to attempt to reconcile the two. It
has never yet been accomplished; and
every endeavour to do it has violated either
ingenuousness or common sense. I shall,
as in similar cases, only indicate the land-
marks which may serve to guide us to all
that is possible for us to discover concern-
ing them. (1) The two genealogies are
both the line of Joeeph, and not of Mary.
Whether Mary were an heiress or not,
Luke's words here preclude the idea of the
genealogy being here ; for the descent of
the Lord is transferred putatively to Joseph
by the at was supposed; before the genea-
logy begins ; and it would be unnatural to
suppose that the reckoning, which began
with the real mother, would, after such
transference, pass back through her to her
father again, as it must do, if the genealogy
be here. The attempts of many to

make it appear that the genealogy is that
of Mary, reading 'the eon (ae sup-
posed of Joseph, but in reality) of Reli,
Ac.' are, as Meyer has shewn, quite un-

successful; see Dr. Mill's vindication of
the Genealogies, p. 180 n% for the history
of this opinion. (2) St. Luke appears to
have taken this genealogy entire from some
authority before him, in which the expies-
sion Boa of God, as applied to Christ, was
made good by tracing it up, as here,
through a regular ascent of progenitors till
we come to Adam, who was, but here again
inexactly, the son of God. This seems much
more probable than that St. Luke should,
for his Gentile readers, have gone up to the
origin of the human race instead of to
Abraham. I cannot imagine any such pur-
pose definitely present in the mind of the
Evangelist. This view is confirmed by

the entirely insulated situation of the gene-
alogy here, between ver. 23 and ch. iv. 1.
(3) The points of divergence between the
genealogies are, — in Matthew the father of
Joseph is Jacob— in Luke, Heli; this gives
rise to different lists (except two common
names, Zorobabel and Salathiel) up to
David, where the accounts coincide again,
and remain identical up to Abraham, where
Matthew ceases. (4) Here, as elsewhere, I
believe that the accounts might be recon-
ciled, or at all events good reason might
be assigned for their differing, if we were
in possession of data on which to proceed ;
but here, as elsewhere, we are not. For
who shall reproduce the endless combina-
tions of elements of confusion, which might
creep into a genealogy of this kind ? St.
Matthew's, we know, is squared so as to
form three groups of fourteens, by the
omission of several generations $ how can
we tell that some similar step, unknown to
us, may not have been taken with the one
before us? It was common among the
Jews for the same man to bear different
names; how do we know how often this
may occur among the immediate progeni-
tors of Joeeph ? The marriage of a brother
with a brother's wife to raise up seed
(which then might be accounted to either
husband) was common ; how do we
know how often this may have contri-
buted to produce variations in the terms

Digitized by VjOOQIC

314 ST. LUKE. III. 27—88.

son of Joseph, which was the son of mJuda, 2? which
was the son of a Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa,
. which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of
Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, M which was the son
of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son
of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the
son. of Er, 29 which was the son of ° Jose, which was the
son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the
son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 3° which was
the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was
the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was
the son of Eliakim, 81 which was the son of Melea, which
was the son of P Menan, which was the son of Mattatha,
ozeeii.zii.if which was the son of ° Nathan, p which was the son of

p 2 8am. t. 14. e '

ichroB.iu. Davi^ sa q which was the son of Jesse, which was the son
q SIEm &ran. of* Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of

1L 10^ Ac

Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, ^ which was the

son of Aminadab, which was the son of TAram, which was

the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was

the son of Juda, ** which was the son of Jacob, which was

rGjn.xLH the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, r which

was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

85 which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of

Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of

• m»o«i.zl Heber, which was the son of Sala, 86 • which was the son of

^ioVfi*0*1 B Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, l which was the

m read, Joda. n read, Joanan.

0 some ancient authorities have, Jesus. P or, Menna.

4 some ancient authorities read, Jobed.

r the readings are very various and uncertain. Most of the ancient MSS. have,
Admin, which was the son of Arni.
0 most ancient authorities have, Cain am.

of a genealogy ? With all these ele- Lord A. Harvey's work on the Genealogiea

ments of confusion, it is quite as pre- of our Lord. 87.] ef Salathiel . . .

sumptuous to pronounce the genealogies of Keri : in Matt. i. 12, " Jeconias begat

discrepant, as it is over-curious and un- Salathiel/' 81.] Halhan : see 2 Sam.

critical to attempt to reconcile them. It v. 14 : 1 Chron. iii. 6: Zech. xii. 12.

may suffice us tnat they are inserted in 86. Cainam] This name does not exist in

the Gospels as authentic documents, and our present Hebrew text, but in the LXX,

both of them merely to clear the Davidical Gen. x. 24 ; xi. 12, 18, and furnishes a

descent of the putative father of the Lord, curious instance of one of two things —

His own real Davidical descent does not either (1) the corruption of our present

depend on either of them, but must be Hebrew text in these chronological pas-

solelv derived through his mother. See sages; or (2) the incorrectness of the

much interesting investigation of the LXX, and notwithstanding that, the high
various solutions and traditions, in Dr. reputation which it had obtained in so
Mill's tract referred to above : and in short a time. Lightfoot holds the latter

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

IV. 1—6.

ST. LUKE.

815.

son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son
of Lamech, s? which was the son of Mathusala, which was
the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was
the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, 88 which
was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which
was the son of Adam, ° which was the son of God. ao».*.i,i.

IV. l And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned
from Jordan, and awas led *by the Spirit *into the •JJ*-J\7>
wilderness, 2 being forty days tempted of the devil. And
bin those days he did eat nothing: and when they were b §"**•*»'*•
ended, he [v afterward] hungered. s And the devil said xlx*8,
unto him, If thou be the son of God, command this stone
that it be made bread. * And Jesus answered him,
\J saying], c It is written that man shall not live by bread «»■»*. ▼!".«.
alone [▼, but by every word of God]. fi And [▼ fie devil,]
taking him up [w into an high mountain], shewed unto him
all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give

t literally, in the Spirit : see note.

v omitted by several very ancient authorities.

w omit, and render, he shewed below.

u render, in.

alternative : bat I own I think the former
more probable. See on the whole ques-
tion of the appearance of this second
Cainam(n) among the ancestors of onr
Lord, Lord A. Hervey's work above cited,
ch. viiL, in which, with much research and
acuteness, he has endeavoured to shew that
the name was probably interpolated here,
and got from hence into the LXX. Cer-
tainly it appears not to have existed in the
earliest copies of that version.

Chap. IV. 1— IS.] Temptation op
Jesus. Matt. iv. 1—11. Mark i. 12, 13.
Ver. 1 is peculiar to Luke, and very im-
portant. Our Lord was now full of the
Holy Qhost, and in that fulness He is led
up to combat with the enemy. He has
arrived at the fulness of the stature of per-
fect man, outwardly an<J spiritually. And
as when His Church was inaugurated by
the descent of the Spirit in His fulness, so
now, the first and fittest weapon for the
combat is " the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God." The discourse of Peter
in Acts ii., like our Lord's replies here, is
grounded in the testimony of the Scripture.
The accounts of St. Matthew and St.
Luke (St. Mark's is principally a compen-
dium) are distinct; see notes on Matthew
and Mark. 9.] The literal rendering

of the present text will be: Jeans . . •
was led by (in, in the power of) the Spirit
in the wilderness, being tempted (i. e. be-
cause he was tempted) during forty days
by the devil. So that St. Luke, as also
St. Mark, implies that the temptation
continued the whole forty days.
he did eat nothing testifies to the strict-
ness in which the term 'fasted' must be
taken. 8.] this stone, pointing to

some particular stone — command that it
become a loaf (so literally). 4.] The

citation is given in full by St. Matthew.
5.] There can be little doubt
that the order in Matthew, in which this
temptation is placed last, is to be adhered
to in our expositions of the Temptation.
No definite notes of succession are given in
our text, but they are by Matthew: see
notes there. Some suppose that the inver-
sion has been made as suiting better the
requirements of probability: it seeming
more natural that our Lord should be first
taken to the mountain and then to Jeru-
salem, than the converse. 6.] Satan
is set forth to us in Scripture as the prince,
or god of this world, — by our Lord Him-
self, John xii. 31 ; xiv. 80 ; xvi. 11 :— by
St. Paul, 2 Cor. iv. 4 (Eph. vi. 12). On
the signification of this temptation, see

Digitized by VjOOQIC

816

ST. LUKE.

IV.

a^nxu^t thee, and the glory of them: for dthat is delivered unto
*iii.«.7. me , an(j ^ whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou there-
fore wilt worship x me, xx all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus
answered and said unto him, [7 Get thee behind me, Satan :

• D»n.Ti.Miybr] °it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve. • And he brought him to
Jerusalem, and set him on ■ a pinnacle of the temple, and
said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself

fPsA.xd.il. down from hence: 10 for fit is written, He shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee : u and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash
thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said

f DBVT.Ttic. unto him, g It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God. 1S And when the devil had ended all the temptation,

h fcViSu** ne departed from him b for a season.

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into

x render, before me. xx read, it shall all. J omit. ■ render, the.

notes on Matthew. 8.] If the words

" Get thee behind me, Satan" had been
here, as in A. V., St. Lnke could hardly
have left the record as it stands: this
being the first direct recognition by our
Lord of His foe, after which, and in
obedience to which command, he departs
from Him. 10.] to keep thee is

wanting in Matthew. The LXX, follow-
ing the Hebrew, adds "in all thy ways."
18.] for a season : see on Matthew,
ver. 11, and note on ch. xxii. 58.

14—82.] Circuit or Galilee. Teach-
ing, and selection, at Nazabeth. Pe-
culiar to Luke in this form : but see Matt,
iv. 12—25; ziii. 58—58, and the parallel
place in Mark, and note below. 14.] in
the power of that full anointing of the
Spirit for His holy office, which He had
received at His baptism : and also imply-
ing that this power was used by Him in
doing mighty works. Here the chrono-
logical order of St. Luke's history begins to
be confused, and the first evident marks
occur of indefiniteness in arrangement,
which 1 believe characterizes this Gospel.
And in observing this, I would once for
all premise, (1) that I have no bias for
finding such chronological inaccuracy, and
have only done so where no fair and honest
means will solve the difficulty ; (2) that
where internal evidence appears to me to
decide this to be the case, I have taken
the only way open to a Commentator
who would act uprightly by the Scrip-
tures, and fairly acknowledged and met
the difficulty; (8) that so far from con-

sidering the testimony of the Evangelists
to be weakened by such inaccuracies, I
am convinced that it becomes only so
much the stronger (see Introduction to
the Gospels).

These remarks have been occasioned by
the relation of this account, w. 14 — 30,
to the Gospels of Matthew and John.
Our verses 14 and 15 embrace the nar-
rative of Matthew in ch. iv. 12—25. But
after that comes an event which belongs
to a later period of our Lord's ministry.
A fair comparison of our w. 16—24 with
Matt. xiii. 53—58, Mark vi. 1—6, entered
on without bias, and conducted solely
from the narratives themselves, surely can
hardly fail to convince us of their identity.
(1) That two euch visits should have hap-
pened, is of itself not impossible; though
(with the sole exception of Jerusalem for
obvious reasons) our Lord did not ordi-
narily revisit the places where He had
been rejected as in our w. 28, 29. (2)
That He should have been thus treated
at His first visit, and then marvelled at
their unbelief on .His second, is utterly
impossible. (3) That the same question
should have been asked on both occasions,
and answered by our Lord with the same
proverbial expression, is in the highest
degree improbable. (4) Besides, this nar-
rative itself bears internal marks of be-
longing to a later period. The what-
soever we have heard done in Capernaum
must refer to more than one miracle done
there : indeed the whole form of the sen-
tence points to the plain fact, that our Lord

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7—18.

ST. LUKE.

817

'Galilee; and there went out a fame of him through all iAeux.*.
the region round about. 16 And he taught in their syna-
gogues, being glorified of all. 16 And he came to
k Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his* Matt il is :
custom was, lhe went into the synagogue on the sabbath lActixuLui
day, and stood up for to read. ]7 And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he
had opened the book, he found the place where it was
written, 18 m The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he miiA.i«i.i.
[*AatA] anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he

a omit.

had been reading long in Capernaum.
Compare too its introduction here without
any notification, with its description as
a city of Galilee in ver. 31, and the
separateness of the two pieces will be
apparent : see farther remarks in the notes
below. Here however is omitted an

important cycle of oar Lord's sayings and
doings, both in Galilee anti Jerusalem;
viz. that contained in John i. 29 — iv. 64
included. This will be shewn by com-
paring Matt. iv. 12, where it is stated that
onr Lord's return to Galilee was after the
catting of John into prison, with John
iii. 24, where, on occasion of the Lord and
the disciples baptizing in Judaea, it is said,
John was not yet east into prison: see
note on Matt. iv. 12. a fame] The

report, namely, of His miracles in Caper-
naum, wrought in the power of the Spirit,
and possibly of what He had done and
taught at Jerusalem at the feast.
15.] Olshausen well remarks that this
verse, containing a general undefined no-
tice of our Lord's synagogue teaching,
quite takes from what follows any chrono-
logical character. Indeed we find through-
out the early part of this Qospel the same
fragmentary stamp. Compare " on the sab-
bath days," ver. 81 — "as the people pressed
on him," ch. v. 1— "when he was in a cer-
tain city" ch. v. 12 — "on a certain day,"
ch. v. 17; viii. 22— "on another sabbath"
ch. vi. 6— "in these days," ch. vi. 12, Ac.
Ac. 16.] where he had been brought

up is expressed by " t» thy country" ver.
23 : see John iv. 44 and note. as his

custom was refers to the whole of what
He did — it is not merely that he had been
in the habit of attending the synagogues,
but of teaching in them : see ver. 15. It
was apparently the first time He had ever
so taught in the synagogue at Nazareth.
stood up for to read] The rising up
was probably to shew His wish to explain

the Scripture; for so the word rendered
" read " imports. Ezra is called a reader of
the divine law, Joseph. Antt. zi. 5. 1. The
ordinary way was, for the ruler of the
synagogue to call upon persons of any
learning or note to read and explain.
That the demand of the Lord was so
readily complied with, is sufficiently ac-
counted for by w. 14, 15. See reff,
17.] It is doubtful whether the Rabbinical
cycle of Sabbath readings, or lessons from
the law and prophets, were as yet in use :
but some regular plan was adopted; and
according to that plan, after the reading
of the law, which always preceded, the
portion from the prophets came to be read
(see Acts xiii. 15), which, for that sabbath,
fell in the prophet Isaiah. The roll con-
taining that book (probably, that alone)
was given to the Lord. But it does not
appear that He read any part of the lesson
for the day; but when He had unrolled
the scroll, round (the fortuitous, i. e. pro-
vidential, finding is the most likely inter-
pretation, not the searching for and find-
ing) the passage which follows. No
inference can be drawn as to the time of
the year from this narrative: partly on
account of the uncertainty above men-
tioned, and partly because it is not quite
clear whether the roll contained only
Isaiah, or other books also. 18—20.]
The quotation agrees mainly with the
LXX :— the words to set at liberty them
that are bruised are inserted from the
LXX of Isa. lviii. 6. The meaning of this
prophetic citation may be better seen, when
we remember that it stands in the middle
of the third great division of the book of
Isaiah (eh. xlix. — lxvi.), that, viz., which
comprises the prophecies of the Person,
office, sufferings, triumph, and Church of
the Messiah; and thus by implication
announces the fulfilment of all that went
before, in Him who then addressed them.

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318

ST. LUKE.

IV.

nXatt-xliLM.

ch.iL 47.
BjohnvLtt.

p Matt. It. 18 1
zLSS.

llf«tt.xUi.54.

rMatt.ziU.57.

John It. 44.
• 1 Kinn vriL

0: ztIU. 1.

Jama* ▼. 17.

hath sent me [° to heal the brokenhearted] , ° to preach deliver-
ance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 t to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. 2° And he closed the book, and
he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened
on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is
this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 2* And all bare him
witness, and n wondered at the d gracious words which pro-
ceeded out of his mouth. And they said, °Is not this
Joseph's son ? ^ And he said unto them, Ye will surely say
unto me this e proverb, Physician, heal thyBelf; whatso-
ever we have heard done in p Capernaum, do also here in
q thy country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you,
No 'prophet is accepted in his own country. 26 But I
tell you of a truth, ■ many widows were in Israel in the

D omit. c better here, to proclaim.

d render, words of grace. e literally, parable.

by. 29.] bare him witness: i.e.

bare witness to him (that it was to).
The words of grace must be the discourse
of which ver. 21 is a compendium,
they said, viz. the "all " mentioned above,
not merely some of them. While acknow-
ledging the truth of what He said, and
the power with which He said it, thej
wondered, and were jealous of Him, m
being the son of Joseph — asking " Whence
hath this man these thing* V see Mark vi.
2 — 4. Between this verse and the next,
the taking offence at Him is implied, for
that is in a tone of reproof. 28.] heal
thyself- not, 'raise thyself from thy ob-
scure station,' bat, exert thy powers of
healing in thine own country, as presently
interpreted; the Physician being repre-
sented as an inhabitant of Nazareth, and
thyself including His own citizens in it.
Stier remarks, that the reproach was rw-
peated under the Cross. Then, with a
strictly individual application. On the
miracles previously wrought in Capernaum,
see note on ver. 14. That in John iv.
4ff — 63 was one such. 24.] See John

iv. 44 and note. And (or, but) ha

said] A formula usual with St. Luke; and
indicating, if I mistake not, the passing to
a different source of information, or at
least a break in the record, if from the
same source. 26.] Our Lord brings

forward instances where the two greatest
prophets in Israel were not directed to act
in accordance with the proverb, ' Physician,

18. The Spirit of the Lord] See Isa.
xi. 2; zlii. 1. deliverance to the

captives] See ch. ziii. 12, 16. recover-
ing of sight to the blind] See John iz. 29.
The Hebrew words thus rendered by the
LXX, signify, 'to those who are bound,
the opening of prison:' so that we have
here the LXX and literal rendering both
included, and the latter expressed in the
LXX words of Isa, lviii. 6. 19. the ac-
ceptable year of the Lord] See Levit.
zzv. 8—17, where in ver. 10 we find that
liberty was proclaimed to all in the land
in the year of jubilee. No countenance is
given by this expression to the extraor-
dinary inference from it of some of the
Fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen),
that the Lord's public ministry lasted
only a gear, and something over. Com-
pare John ii. 13 ; vi. 4 ; ziii. 1. 20.
sat down] It was the custom in the syna-
gogues to stand while reading the law,
and sit down to explain it. Our Lord on
other occasions taught sitting, e. g. Matt.
v. 1 : Mark iv. 1 ; ziii. 8. The minis-
ter was the officer whose duty it was to
keep the sacred books. 21.] he began
to say,— implying that the following words
are merely the substance of a more ex-
panded discourse, which our Lord uttered
to that effect: see another occasion in
Matt. zi. 4, 6, where the same truth was
declared by a series of gracious acts of
mercy. fulfilled in your ears, viz. by
My proclaiming it, and My course of minis-

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19—31.

ST. LUKE.

319

dayB of Elias, when the heaven was shut tip three years
and six months, when great famine was throughout all the
land; 26tbut unto none of them was Elias sent, save
unto Sarepta^ % a city] of h Sidon, unto a woman that was a
widow. 27 * And many lepers were in Israel in the time tsKingsv.u.
of i Eliseus the prophet ; and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian. M And all they in the syna-
gogue, when they heard these things, were filled with
wrath, M and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and
led him unto the hrow of the hill whereon their city was
huilt, that they might cast him down headlong. 80 But
he "passing through the midst of them went his way, uJohnTui.6t
81 and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and

' render ; and. 9 omit: not in the original.

h read, Sidonia. i that is, Elisha.

heal thyself:' bat their miraculous powers
exerted on those who were strangers to
God's inheritance. three yean and

six months] So also in James v. 17 ;— but
in 1 Kings xviii. 1 we find that it was in
the third year that the Lord commanded
Elyah to shew himself to Ahab, for He
would send rain on the earth. But it does
not appear from what time this third year
is reckoned,— or at what time of the year,
with reference to the usual former and
latter rains, the drought caused by Elijah's
prayer began [it apparently had begun
some time before the prophet was sent to
be miraculously sustained, as this very fact
implies failure of the ordinary means of
sustenance] ; and thus, without forming
any further hypothesis, we have latitude
enough given for the three and a half
years, which seems to have been the exact
time. This period is one often recurring
in Jewish record and in prophecy: see
Daniel vii. 25 ; xii. 7 : Rev. xi. 2, 3 ; xii. 6,
14; xiii. 5. Lightfoot produces more in-
stances from the Rabbinical writers. " The
period of three years and a half, = 42
months or 1260 days, had an ominous
sound in the ears of an Israelite, being the
time of this famine, and of the duration of
the desolation of the temple under Antio-
chus." Wordsw. 88.] Sarepta, now

Sfirafend,— a large village, inland, halfway
between Tyre and Sidon:— the ancient
city seems to have been on the coast.
27.] Stier remarks, that these two examples
have a close parallelism with those of the
Syro- Phoenician woman (Mark vii. 26) and
the ruler's son at Capernaum (John iv. 46).
28—80.] The same sort of rage
possessed the Jews, Acta xxii. 22, on a

similar truth being announced to them.
This whole occurrence, whenever it hap-
pened in our Lord's ministry, was but a
foreshadowing of His treatment afterwards
from the nation of the Jews — a foretaste
of " He came unto hi* own, and his own
received him not" (John i. 11). The
modern Nazareth is at a distance of about
two English miles from what is called the
Mount of Precipitation; nor is it built
literally on the brow of that mount or
hill. But (1) neither does the narrative
preclude a considerable distance having
been traversed, during which they had our
Lord in their custody, and were hurrying
with him to the edge of the ravine ; nor
(2) is it at all necessary to suppose the city
built on the brow, but only on the moun-
tain, or range of hills, of which the brow
forms a part— which it is. Our Lord's

passing through the midst of them is
evidently miraculous: the circumstances
were d.fferent from those in John viii. 60,
where the expression is " He hid himself
and went out of the temple:99 see note
there. Here, the Nazarenes had Him ac-
tually in their custody. 81 f.] Mark
i. 21, 22. The view maintained with re-
gard to the foregoing occurrence in the
preceding notes, of course precludes the
notion that it was the reason of our Lord*s
change of habitation to Capernaum. In
fact that change, as remarked on ver. 14^
had been made some time before : and it is
hardly possibly that such an expression as
" Re came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up,99 should be used, if He still
resided there. The words a city of Galilee
come in unnaturally after the mention of
Capernaum in ver. 23, and evidently shew

Digitized by VjOOQIC

320 ST. LUKE. IV. 32—44.

taught them on the sabbath days. 82 And they were

»5f^f astonished at his doctrine : ? for his word was with power.

"' 3s And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a

spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

84 [J saying ,] Let us 'alone; what have we to do with thee,

thou Jesus of Nazareth ? k art thou come to destroy us ?

wtot.41. WI know thee who thou art: . *the Holy One of God.

ZPt.XTl.10. ' *

D«n.ir.u. 85 Ajid Jegus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and
come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in
the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. M And
they were all amazed, and spake among themselves,
saying, 1 What a word is this I for with authority and
power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37 And m the fame of him went out into every place of the
country round about. ^ And he arose out of the syna-
gogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's
wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they
besought him for her. 89 And he stood over her, and
rebuked the fever ; and it left her : and immediately she
arose and ministered unto them. *° Now when the sun
was setting, all they that had any sick with divers
diseases brought them unto him ; and he laid his hands on

J omit. k more probably, thou art come to destroy us.

1 render, What word is this, that with authority and power he
commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out ?
m render, a report concerning him.

that this was originally intended to be the 88—41.] Healing op Simon's Wife's
first mention of the place. What may motheb, and many others. Matt. viii.
have been the reason of the change of 14 — 17. Mark i. 29—84. Our account
abode is quite uncertain. It seems to has only a slight additional detail, which
have included the whole family, except the is interesting however as giving another
sisters, who may have been married at side of an eye-witness's evidence — it is, he
Nazareth,— see note on John ii. 12, and stood over her. Now this is implied in
Matt. iv. 18. came down,— see also laying hold of her hand, as she was in bed;
John ii. 12,— because Nazareth lay high, which particulars are both mentioned by
and Capernaum on the sea of Galilee. St. Matthew and St. Mark :— this being
88—87.] Healing op a djjmoniao in one of those many cases where the altera-
the synagogue at Capebnauk. Mark tion of the one expression into the other is
i. 23—28, where see notes. The two ac- utterly inconceivable. 88. a great fever]
counts are very closely cognate — being the An epithet used by St. Luke, as a physician;
same narrative, only slightly deflected; not for, as Galen observes, physicians divided
more, certainly, than might have arisen fevers into great and small. Bleek doubts
from oral repetition by two persons, at this, and understands it only of the in-
some interval of time, of what they had tensity of the fever. 40.] he laid his
received in the same words. 85.] hurt hands on every one of them, is a detail
him not is here only. St. Mark's expres- peculiar to Luke, and I believe indicating
sion, rendered •' torn" may mean ' having the same as above : as also the crying out
convulsed Asm'— and our text, 'without and saying, implied in the other Evange-
doing him bodily injury.' lists, but not expressed.

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V. 1.

ST. LUKE.

321

every one of them, and healed them. 41 * And devils also * *«*«««•
came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art
^Chrisf] the Son of God. And 8he rebuking them «v«tm.«.
suffered them not to speak : for they knew that he was
Christ. *® And when it was day, he departed and went
into a desert place: and the ° people sought him, and
came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart
from them. tt And he said unto them, I must preach the
kingdom of God to other cities also : for therefore P am
I sent. ** And he * preached in the synagogues of
r Galilee.

V. l And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed
upon him ■ to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake

11 omit. ° render, multitudes.

P read, was. 1 render, continued preaching.

r most of the ancient authorities read, Judsea.
1 many ancient authorities read, and heard.

42 — 44.] Jesus, being sought out in
His retirement, preaches through-
out Jud^sa. Mark L 85—39. The dis-
similitude in wording of these two accounts
is one of the most striking instances in
the Gospels, of variety found in the same
narration. While the matter related (with
one remarkable exception, see below) is
nearly identical, the only words common
to the two are into a desert (or solitary,
the word is the same) place. 48.]

the multitudes are " Simon and they that
were with him" in Mark. The great

number of sick which were brought to the
Lord on the evening before, and this
morning, is accounted for by some from
His departure having been fixed on and
known beforehand ; but it is perhaps more
simple to view it as the natural result of
the effect of the healing of the cUemoniac
in the synagogue, on the popular mind.
44.1 See Matt. iv. 23-25 and notes.
This verse is a formal close to this
section of the narrative, and chronologi-
cally separates it from what follows.
The reading Judaa must, on any intelli-
gible critical principles, be adopted. So
iar, however, being plain, 1 confess that all
attempts to explain the fact seem to me
futile. The three Evangelists relate no
ministry in Judaea, with this single excep-
tion. And our narrative is thus brought
into the most startling discrepancy with
that of St. Mark, in which unquestionably
the same portion of the sacred history is
related. Still, these are considerations
which must not weigh in the least degree
Vol. I.

with the critic. It is his province simply
to track out what is the sacred text, not
what, in his own feeble and partial judg-
ment, it ought to have been.
Chap. V. 1—11.] The miraculous

DRAUGHT OF PISHES. CALL 07 PETER

and the sons of Zebedeb. The ques-
tion at once meets us, whether this ac-
count, in its form here peculiar to Luke,
is identical in its subject-matter with
Matt. iv. 18—22, and Mark i. 16—20.
With regard to this, we may 'notice the
following particulars. (1) Some suppose
this to be the first meeting of our Lord
with Simon Peter." But it must be, I
think, the inference of most readers, that
a previous and close relation had subsisted
between them before. Peter calls Him
Master and Lord: evidently (ver. 5, end)
expects a miracle ; and follows Him, with
his partners, without any present express
command so to do. Still all this

might be, and yet the account might be
identical with the others. For our Lord
had known Peter before this, John i. 41
if., and, in all probability, as one of His
disciples. And although there is here no
express command to follow, yet the words
in ver. 10 may be, and are probably in.
tended to be, equivalent to one. (2) That
the Evangelist evidently intends this as
the first apostolic calling of Peter and his
companions. The expressions in ver. 11
could not otherwise have been used. (3)
That there is yet the supposition, that
the accounts in Matthew and Mark may
be a shorter way of recounting this by pec-
Y

Digitized by VjOOQIC

322

ST. LUKE.

of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two t skips standing by the
lake : but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were
washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the
ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would
thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and
taught * tie people out of the ship. * Now when he had
nJohnxxi.0. left speaking, he said unto Simon, a Launch out into the
deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon
answering said unto him, Master, v we have toiled all the
nighty and have taken nothing : nevertheless at thy word I
will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done,
they inclosed a great multitude of fishes : and w their net
brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which
were in the other ship, that they should come and help
them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that

* many ancient copies have, boats.

11 render, the multitudes.

▼ render, we toiled all the night, and took nothing.

w read and render, their nets were bursting.

tone who were not aware of these circum-
stances. But then such a supposition will
not consist with that high degree of autho-
rity in those accounts, which I believe them
to have : see note on Mark. (4) It seems
to me that the truth of the matter is nearly
this : — that this event is distinct from, and
happened at a later period than, the call-
ing in Matthew and Mark; but that the
four Apostles, when our Lord was at
Capernaum, followed their occupation as
fishermen. There is every thing to shew,
in our account, that the calling bad pre-
viously taken place ; and the closing of it
by the expression in ver. 11 merely indi-
cates, what there can be no difficulty in
seeing even without it, that our present
account is an imperfect one, written by
one who found thus mucb recorded, and
knowing it to be part of the history of the
calling of the Apostles, appended to it the
fact of their leaving all nnd following the
Lord. As to the repetition of the assu-
rance in ver. 10, 1 see no more in it than
this which appears also from other pas-
sages in the Gospels, that the Apostles, as
such were not called or ordained at any
special moment, or by any one word of
power alone; but that in their case, as
well as ours, there was line upon line,
precept upon precept : and that what was
said generally to all four on the former
occasion, by words only, was repeated to
Peter on this, not only in words, but by a

miracle. Does his fear, as expressed in
ver. 8, besides the reason assigned, indicate
some previous slowness, or relaxation of
his usually earnest attachment, of which
he now becomes deeply ashamed ? (5) It
is also to be noticed that there is no
chronological index to this narrative con-
necting it with what precedes or follows.
It cannot well (see ver. 8) have taken
place after the healing of Peter's wife'*
mother ; and (ver. 1) must have been after
the crowd had now become accustomed to
hear the Lord teach. (6) Also, that there
is no mention of Andrew here, as in ver.
10 there surely would have been, if he had
been present. (7) It will be seen how wholly
irreconcileable either of the suppositions is
with the idea that St. Luke «*** the Gospel
of St. Matthew, or that of St. Mark, in
compiling his own. 2.] were washing
their nets— -indicating that their labour
for that time was finished : see ver. 5.
4.] Launch out is, in the original, siogulsr,
as addressed to Peter alone, who was the
steersman of his ship j let down is plural,
as addressed to the fishermen in the ship
collectively. So below also, I will let
down, of the director,— when they had
this done, of the doers,— of the act.
5.1 all the night,— the ordinary time of
fishing:— see John xxi. 8. 6.] were

bursting, i. e. had begun to hurst.
7.] They beckoned, on account of the dis-
tance; or perhaps for the reason given by

Digitized by VjOOQIC

2—15. ST. LUKE. 823

they began to sink. 8 When Simon Teter saw it, he fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, b Depart from me; for I am b}SjmTivu
a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For * he was astonished, and all "*
that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which
they had taken : 10 and so was also James, and John, the
sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And
Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; cfrom henceforth thou0*!^,^-
shalt 7 catch men. n And when they had brought their
.ships to land, dthey forsook all, and followed him. d SSSz^ifi*

12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, «m.».'
behold a man full of leprosy : who seeing Jesus fell on his
face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. w And he put forth his hand, and
touched him, saying, I will : be thou ■ clean. And
immediately the leprosy departed from him. 14 And he
charged him to tell no man : but go, and shew thyself to
the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, e according as • ftViS.*
Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. ]5 But so f MittlT „
much the more went there " a fame abroad of him : f and Sjjjjji"/-

x literally, astonishment encompassed him.
7 better, be a catcher of.

I render, made clean. It is the tame word a* before. This correction should
have been made in Matt. viii. 3 : Mark i. 41.

II render, the.

Euthymius, not being able to speak from madest hiin to have dominion over the

their amazement and fear. 8.] Depart works of Thy hands ; thou hast put all

from me, i. e. from my ship. The speech things under His feet .... the fowl of

is in exact keeping with the quick discern- the air, and the fish of the sea, and what-

ment, and expression of feeling, of Peter's soever walketh through the paths of the

character. Similar sayings are found Exod. seas' (w. 6, 8)." 10.] thou shalt be

xx. 18, 19; Judg. xiii. 22; 1 Kings xvii. a catcher of men:— compare, and indeed

18 ; Isa. vi. 5 ; Dan. x. 17. This sense throughout this miracle, the striking

of unworthiness and self-loathing is ever parallel, and yet contrast, in John xxi. —

the effect, in the depths of a heart not with its injunction, 'Feed my lambs,9

utterly hardened, of the Divine Power and ' Shepherd My sheep' given to the same

presence. " Below this, is the utterly pro- Peter ; its net Which did not burst : and

fane state, in which there is no contrast, the minute and beautiful appropriateness

no contradiction felt, between the holy and of each will be seen : this, at, or near, the

the unholy, between God and man. Above commencement of the apostolic oourse ;

it, is the 6tate of grace, in which the con- that, at how different, and how fitting a

tradiction is felt, the deep gulf perceived, time !

which divides between sinful man and an 12—16.] Healing op a lspeb. Matt,

holy God,— yet it is felt that this gulf is viii. 2—4. Mark i. 40—46. In Matthew

bridged over, — that it is possible for the placed immediately after the Sermon on

two to meet, — that in One, who is sharer the Mount : in Mark and here, without

with both, they have already been brought any note of time. See notes on Matthew,
together." Trench on the Miracles. The 12.] full of leprosy (a touch of medical

same writer remarks of the miracle itself, accuracy from the beloved physician) im-

" Christ here appears as the ideal man, the plies the soreness of the disease. 15.]

second Adam of the eighth Psalm ; 'Thou The reason of this is stated in Mark, ver.

Y 2

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324 ST. LUKE. V.

great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed
*££k?ivi?' [a*y him] of their infirmities. l6Y>*And he withdrew
himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

!7 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was
teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law
sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee,
and Judaea, and Jerusalem : and the power of the Lord
was present c to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought
d in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy : and they
sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
39 And when they could not find by what way they might
bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the
housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his
couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw
their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven
thee. 21 And the scribes " and the Pharisees began to
reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies ?
h FiSfiil'iB. h W*10 can forgive sins, but God alone ? 22 But when
Jesus perceived their • thoughts, he answering said unto
them, What reason ye in your hearts ? ^ * Whether is
easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say, Rise
up and walk ? &* But that ye may know that the Son of

a omit.

D render, But he continued in retirement in the desert places, and
praying.

c several ancient authorities have, for his healing, i.e. so that he exercised it
in the direction of healing. * render, upon.

• literally, reasonings. It is the noun formed from the verb rendered reason
in verses 21, 22. f i.e. which of the two.

45, to be the disobedience of the leper to events in Matt. viii. to be related out of

the Lord's command. 16.] and pray- their order. 17.] out of every town :

ing is peculiar to Luke, as often : see ch. not to be pressed : as we say, from all

iii. 21 ; vi. 12 ; ix. 18 ; xi. 1. This parts. the power of the Lord] Does

verse breaks off the sequence of the narra- this mean the power of Qod— or the power

tive. of the Lord, i. c. Jesus P Meyer remarks

17—86.] Healing of a pabalttio. that St. Luke uses the Lord frequently for

Matt. ix. 2—8. Mark ii. 1 — 12. This mi- Jesus, but always with the Greek definite

racle is introduced by the indefinite words, article : so in ch. vii. 13 ; x. 1 ; xi. 39 ; xii.

and it came to pass on a certain day. In 42, al. fr. :— but the same word without the

Matt. viii. 6— ix. 1, a series of incidents article, for the Most High ; so here; and in

are interposed. Oar Lord there appears ch. i. 11, 38, 58, 66 ; ii. 9 ; iv. 19 ; whence

to have returned from the country of the we conclude that the meaning is, the

Gadarenes and the miracle on the dsemo- power of God (working in the Lord Jesus)

nine there, to ' His own city' i. e. Caper- waa in the direction of His healing: i. e.

naum. The order in Mark is the same as wrought so that He exercised the powers

here, and his narrative contains the only of healing : and then a case follows,

decisive note of sequence (ch. iv. 35), 18.] Borne of four, Mark. 19.] This

which determines his order and that in the description is that of an eye-witness,

text to have been the actual one, and the 20,] On their faith see note on Matthew,

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16—36. ST. LUKE. 325

man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, he said unto
the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up
thy couch, and go into thine house. ^ And immediately
he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay,
and departed to his own house, glorifying God. *• And
& they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were
filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
2? And after these things he went forth, and k saw a
publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom :
and he said unto him, Follow me. w And he left all,
rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a
great feast in his \}<ncn\ house: and 'there was a great i*.n.i.
company of publicans and of others that i sat down with
them. 80 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured
against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink
with publicans [* and sinners'] ? 81 And Jesus answering
said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician ;
but they that are sick. 33 k j came not to call the k * Tlm- '• 15-
righteous, but sinners to repentance. M And they said
unto him, \} Why do] the disciples of John fast often, and
make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees ;
but thine eat and drink ? *** m And he said unto them,
Can ye make the n children of the bridechamber fast, while
the bridegroom is with them ? S5 But the days will come,
when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and
then shall they fast in those days. S6 Ajad he spake also a

& literally, amazement seized them all. &• render, beheld.

* not expressed in the original.

J render, were sitting at meat. k omit.

1 these words are omitted by many ancient authorities, and the sentence read as an
assertion.

m read, But Jesus. n render, Sons.

ver. 2 ; also on are forgiven. 26.1 not so much a present objective relinquish -
strange things — literally, things beyond ment, as the mind with which he rose to
our expectation. Compare the close of the follow. 29.] This fact is only ex-
accounts in Matthew and Mark. pressly mentioned here — but may be di-
27—89.] Calling of Levi. Question rectly inferred from Mark, and remotely
respecting FASTING. Matt. ix. 9 — 17. from Matthew. See on Matthew, ver. 10.
Mark ii. 13—22. For all common matter, 83.1 On the difference in the persons
— the discussion of the identity of Mat- who ask tnis question, see on Matthew and
thew and Levi, &c.— see notes on Matthew Mark. and make prayers : see ch.
and Mark. I here only notice what is xi. 1. These prayers must be understood
peculiar to Luke. 27.] not merely in connexion with an ascetic form of life,
*Se saw,' but He looked on,— He oh- not as only the usual prayers of devout
served. 28.] left all: not merely, men. 34.] I have remarked on the
'left his books and implements,' but the striking contrast between make to last
expression is generally used, and imports and they shall (or, will) fast, on Matthew,

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826

ST. LUKE.

V. 37—39.

parable unto them ; No man * putteth a piece of a new
garment upon an old; if otherwise, then P both ike new
maheth a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the
new * agreelh not with the old. 37 And no man putteth
new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst
the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles [r; and both
are preserved] . 39 No man also having drunk old wine
[* straightway] desire th new: for he saith, The old is
* better.

VI. l And it came to pass on the [u second] sabbath
[* after the first], that he went through the corn fields;
and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the

• read, cutteth a piece from a new garment, and putteth it.

P read and render, he both will rend the new garment : tee note.

4 read, will not agree.

r omitted by some of the oldest authorities, and probably inserted from the parallel
place in Matthew,

1 omit. * some ancient copies read, good.

u omitted by some ancient authorities, perhaps on account of its difficulty.

ver. 15. 36.] The latter part of this

verse is peculiar, and is to be understood
as in the margin, • if he does, he both will
rend the new garment9 (by taking out of it
the piece), 'and the piece from, the new
garment will not agree with the old.9 In
Matthew and Mark the mischief done is
differently expressed. Our text is very
significant, and represents to us the spoil-
ing of both systems by an attempt to en-
graft the new upon the old : - the new
loses its completeness : the old, its consis-
tency. 89.] This peculiar and impor-
tant addition at once stamps our report
with the very highest character for accu-
racy. Its apparent difficulty has perhaps
caused its omission from some of our an-
cient authorities. It contains the conclu-
sion of the discourse, and the final answer
to the question in ver. 83, which is not
given in Matthew and Mark. The persons
who had drunk the old wine are the Jews,
who had long been habituated to the old
system ; — the new is the new wine (see on
Matthew) of the grace and freedom of the
Gospel: and our Lord asserts that this
new wine was not palatable to the Jews,
who said the old if better (or, good).
Observe that there is no objective compari-
son whatever here between the old and new
wine j the whole stress is on deaireth and
for he saith, and the import of better is

subjective : — in the view of him who utters
it. And even if we were to assume such
an objective comparison, it makes no diffi-
culty. In time, the new wine will become
older; — the man will become habituated
to its taste, and the wine itself mellowed :
and the comparison between the wines is
not then which is the older, but which is
intrinsically the belter. Stier observes,

that the saying is a lesson for ardent and
enthusiastic converts not to be disappointed,
if they cannot at once instil their spirit
into others about them.
Chap. VI. 1—5.] The disciples plttoe:

EABS OF CORN ON THE SABBATH. Matt.

xii. 1—8. Mark ii. 23—28. Between the
discourse just related here and in Mark,
and this incident, Matthew interposes the
raising of Jairus's daughter, the healing
of the two blind and one dumb, the mission
of the twelve, and the message of John.
1 need not insist on these obvious proofs of
independence in the construction of our
Gospels. On the question of the ar-

rangements, see on Matthew. L se-

cond . . . after the first] The word thus
rendered presents much difficulty. None
of the interpretations have any certainty,
as the word is found no where else, and
can be only judged of by analogy. See
the discussion in the notes in m Greek
Testament. rubbing them in their

Digitized by VjOOQIC

VI. 1—10. ST. LUKE. 827

Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that * which is not »■«©«.*«. m.
lawful to do on the sabbath days ? 8 And Jesus answer-
ing them said, Have ye not read so much as this, bwhat »j»»".»i-
David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which
were with him ; * how he went into the house of God, and
did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them
that were with him ; ° which it is not lawful to eat but for ol*t.xx1y.o.
the priests alone ? 6 And he said unto them, That the
Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. 6 d And it came to d^oh^m.
pass l^also] on another -sabbath, that he entered into the Johnl*-w-
synagogue and taught : and there was a man whose right
hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees
watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day ;
that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he
knew their w thoughts, and said to the man which had the
withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.
And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus unto
them, x7 will ask you one thing ; Is it lawful on the
sabbath days to do good, or to do evil ? to save life, or to
destroy it ? 10 And looking round about upon them all,

v omitted by the most ancient authorities.

w see above on ch. v. 22 : the word is the same.

x read, 1 ask you whether it is.

hand! is a detail peculiar to Luke : rob- Mark and St. Luke have preserved the

bing them and blowing away the chaff, exact narrative here. St. Matthew, as we

2.] In Matthew and Mark, the see, describes the watching of the Pharisees

Pharisees address our Lord, 'Why do Thy (their thoughts, or reasonings, ver. 8) as

disciples/ Ac.? 3.] Have ye not read words actually spoken, and relates that

so much as this! i.e., 'Are ye so utterly they asked the question : which certainly

ignorant of the spirit of Scripture ?' See arises from an imperfect report of what

Mark xii. 10, where the same expression took place, the question itself being verba-

occurs. In one of our ancient authorities, tim that which our Lord asked on that

the Cambridge MS., the following is the other occasion, Luke xiv. 3, and followed

form of ver. 6 : On the same day he beheld by a similar appeal about an animal. Thero

a certain man working on the sabbath, can hardly be a doubt that in St. Matthew's

and said unto him, 0 man, if thou know- narrative the two occurrences are blended :

eat what thou art doing, blessed art thou: and this may have taken place from tho

but if thou knowest not, accursed, and a very circumstance of the question about

transgressor of the law. This remarkable an animal having been asked on both oc-

substitution seems to be an interpolation, casions; St. Luke omitting it here, because

but hardly an invention of a later time, he reports it there — St. Matthew joining to

Its form and contents speak for its origi- it the question asked there, because he was

nality, and, I am disposed to believe, its not aware of another similar incident,

authenticity. right hand is a mark of accuracy,

6 — 11.1 HEAT.nra- or the withered and from an eye-witness. 9.] After the

HA5D. Matt. xii. 9 — 14. Mark iii. 1 — question, St. Mark adds " But they held

6. See on Matthew. 6.] The circum- their peace" — as they did after the question

stances related in ch. xiv. 1 — 6 are very just referred to in ch. xx. 3, because they

similar to these ; and there St. Luke has were in a dilemma, and either answer

inserted the question of Matthew, vv. 11, would have convicted them. 10.] St.

12. I should be disposed to think that St. Mark adds "with anger, being grieved at

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328

ST. LUKE.

VI.

he said unto 7 the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did
so : and his hand was restored [■ whole] [a as the other] .
11 And they were filled with * madness ; and communed
one with another what they might do to Jesus.

• jutt.xiv.js. 12 • And it came to pass in c those days, that he went out
into * a mountain to pray, and continued all night in
• prayer to God. 13 And when it "was day, he called unto
him his disciples : and of them he chose twelve, whom also

i johai.4f. he named apostles; u Simon, f whom he also named Peter,
and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and
Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James \}tKe son]
of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 and Judas [f the
brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot, which [8 also] was
the traitor. 17 And he came down with them, and stood
y read, him. s omitted by all the most ancient authorities.

* omitted by some ancient authorities.

* render, foolishness. c render, these.

d render, the. • render, his prayer.

' not expressed in the original. 8» omit.

the hardness of their hearts" — one of the
most striking and graphic descriptions in
the Gospels. It was thus that He bare
(see Matt. viii. 17), even while, on earth,
our sing and infirmities. Their hearts were
hardened, — but He grieved for it. 11.

foolishness] It does not appear that this
word can ever mean, as in A. V. 'madness/
or as some explain it, rage of a senseless
kind. The proper meaning, 'senseless-
ness/ 'wicked folly/ must be kept to.
communed -viz. the Pharisees and
Herodians : Mark, ver. 6, where see note.

12—19.] Caxlino and Nahkb op thb
twelvb Apostles. Peculiar (in this
form) to Luke: see Matt. xii. 15 — 21;
Mark iii. 13 — 19. We may observe, that
St. Matthew does not relate the choosing
of the Apostles, but only takes occasion to
give a list of them on their being sent out,
ch. x. 1 ff.; and that St. Mark and St.
Luke agree in the time of their being
chosen, placing it immediately after the
healing on the sabbath, — but with no very
definite note of time. 12.] in these

days is vague in date, and may belong to
any part of the period of our Lord's minis-
try now before us. I believe it to be a
form of acknowledgment on the part of the
Evangelist, that he did not determine exactly
into what part of this period to bring the
incident so introduced. Indeed the whole
of this paragraph is of a supplementary and
indefinite character, serving more as a pre-
face to the discourse whicji follows, than as

an integral part of the narration in its pre-
sent sequence. This of course in no way
affects the accuracy of the circumstances
therein related, which nearly coincide in
this and the cognate, though independent,
account of Mark. went out— viz.

from Capernaum. the mountain — see

on Matt. v. 1. to pray—see note on

ch. v. 16. and oontinued all night in

his prayer to God] This is the right ren-
dering. The fancy that by the words ren-
dered "in his prayer to Qod" is meant in
a house of prayer, is quite baseless.
13. he called unto aim his disciples]
expressed in Mark, "He eallcth to him
whom he would" — i. e. He summoned to
Him a certain larger number, out of whom
He selected Twelve. We are not to sup-
pose that this selection was now first made
out of a miscellaneous number— but now
first formally aunounced j the Apostles, or
most of them, had had each their special
individual calling to be, in a peculiar
manner, followers of the Lord, before this,
he named] not at a previous, or
subsequent period ; but at this time.
14.] Ou the catalogue, see notes on Matt,
x. 1 ff. 16.] Judas of James -usually,

and I believe rightly, rendered Jude the
brother of James: see Introduction to
Jude. On the question who this James
was, see on Matt. x. 3, and xiii. 55.
17.] Having descended from the moun-
tain, He stood on a level place — i. e. pos-
sibly, as has been suggested by some, on a

Digitized by VjOOQIC

11—22.

ST. LUKE.

329

*in the plain, and * the company of his disciples, *and a&gjjfcjj-*5-

great k multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem,

and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came

to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases ; 18 and

1 they that were vexed with unclean spirits : and they were

healed. 19 And the whole multitude h sought to touch hM*tt- **•»■

him : for l there went m virtue out of him, and healed them 15fJ&5.

all. 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said,

k Blessed n be ye poor : for your*s is the kingdom of God, k

21 ' Blessed are ye that hunger now : for ye shall be filled

m Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh

** n Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when

they ° shall separate you from their company, and shall

• \xr. IS.
mlsa. lxl.8.

n 1 Pet. ii. 10:

Hi. 14: It. 14.
o John XTi. t.

a render, upon a level place. i render, a multitude.

k render, number of the people.

1 read and render, and they that were vexed were cured of unclean

spirits. m render, power. n render, are.

fiat ledge or shelf on the side of the moun-
tain ; but more naturally below the moun-
tain j- see on Matt. v. 1. Whether St. Luke
could thus have written with the Oospel of
St. Matthew before him, I leave the reader
to judge : premising, that is, the identity
of the two discourses. 19.] St. Luke

uses the same expression, of power going
forth from our Lord, in ch. viii. 46.

20 — 49.] Sermon on the Mount (?).
Peculiar (in this form) to Luke, answering
to Matt. v. — vii. On the whole question
of the identity or diversity of the two dis-
courses, see on Matt. v. 1. In Matthew I
cannot doubt that we have the whole dU-
course much as it was spoken; the con-
nexion is intimate throughout; the ar-
rangement wonderfully consistent and ad-
mirable. Here, on the other hand, the
discourse is only reported in fragments —
there is a wide gap between w. 26 and 27,
and there are many omissions in other parts;
besides which, sayings of our Lord, be-
longing apparently to other occasions, are
inserted ; see vv. 89, 40, 45. At the same
time we must remember, that such central
sayings would probably be frequently ut-
tered by Him, and might very likely form
part of this discourse originally. His
teaching was not studious of novelty like
that of men, but speaking with authority
as He did, He would doubtless utter
again and again the same weighty sen-
tences when occasion occurred. Hence
may have arisen much of the difference of
arrangement observable in the reports—

because sayings known to have been ut-
tered together at one time, might be
thrown together with sayings spoken at
another, with some one common link per-
haps connecting the two groups.
20. on his disciples] The discourse was
spoken to the disciples generally, — to the
Twelve particularly,— to the people pro-
spectively ; and its subject, both here and
in Matthew, is, the Hate and duties of a
disciple of Christ. ye poor] To sup-

pose that St. Luke's report of this discourse
refers only to this world's poverty, &c. —
and the blessings to anticipated outward
prosperity in the Messiah's Kingdom, is
surely quite a misapprehension. Com-
paring these expressions with other pas-
sages in St. Luke himself, we must have
concluded, even without St. Matthew* s re-
port, that they bore a spiritual sense;
see ch. xvi. 11, where he speaks of 'the
true riches,' and ch. xii. 21, where we
have rich towards God. And who would
apply such an interpretation to our ver.
21 P See on each of these beatitudes

the corresponding notes in Matthew,
the kingdom of God] " the kingdom of
heaven," Matthew, but it does not thence
follow that "heaven" is the same as
" Ood," but the two are different ways of
designating the same kingdom— the one
by its situation — in heaven, where its
polity is (Jerusalem which is above, Qal.
iv. 26), the other by Him, whose it is.
22.] Separate and cast out must
not be understood of Jewish excommuuica-

Digitized by

c^<

830 ST. LUKE. VI.

reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son

pcolYu!' °f man's sake. & p Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for

qiXrihii. joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for <»in

the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

* AjjMjjjri.1. »* * But woe unto you * that are rich, for * ye ° have received

tBtatl11;?^. your consolation. 25 u Woe unto you that are Vfull, for ye

uiL^u sna^ nunger- Woe unto you that laugh now, for ye shall

'wota*;!**. mourn and weep. *• 7 Woe unto you, when all men shall

speak well of you: for so did their fathers to the false

w "T&S?11, prophets. 2? w But I say unto you which hear, Love your

SSi?xii.fo. enemies, do good to them which hate you, ^ bless them

xeh.xxiii.si. that curse you, [land'] xpray for them which despitefully

use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one

yicor.Ti.7. cheek offer also the other; *and him that taketh away thy

18jo!,iSw. c^e f°rl>^ not to take thy coat also. 30 "Give to every

uLI8, man that asketh of thee ; and of him that taketh away thy

goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men

should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 r For if

ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for

sinners also love those that love them. M And if ye do

good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye ?

for sinners also do even the same. M And if ye lend to

them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?

for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

b£t?Sio: S5 But Move ye your enemies, and do good, and Mend,

0 have received is the same word rendered have in Matt. vi. 2, 5, 16 : see
notes there. P read, full now. ^ omit, r render, And.

tion only, but of all kinds of expulsion false prophets shews this, and should have

from society. your name: — either prevented the blunder from being made,

your collective name as Christians,-- to The mention of "prophets" and "false

which St. Peter seems to refer, 1 Pet. iv. prophets ** has reference to the disciples'

14 — 16 ;— or, your individual name. office as the salt of the earth. The address

23.] in that day, not in the most solemn in ver. 27 is not (Meyer) a turning of the

sense of the words (roe Matt. vii. 22), but discourse to His own disciples, but I lay

in the day when men shall do thus to unto you whioh hear is equivalent to

yon. 24/] Of course 1 cannot assent " But I say unto you** which introduces

to any such view as that taken by Meyer the same command Matt. iv. 44, — and that

and others, that these * woes ' are inserted hear serves the purpose of the I — to yon

from later" tradition ; in other words, were who now hear me. The discourse being in

never spoken by our Lord at all: — either an abridged form, the strong antithesis could

we must suppose that they ought to follow not be brought out. 29.] See Matt. v.

Matt. v. 12, which is from the context 89 ff. 81.] Matt. vii. 12 ; bat here

most improbable,— or that they and per- it seems somewhat out of connexion,

haps the four preceding beatitudes with for the sense of vv. 29, 80, has been re-

tbem, were on some occasion spoken by sist not evil, whereas this precept refers

. our Lord in this exact form, and so have to the duty of man to man, injury being

been here placed in that form. out of the question. 32.] This verse

26.] Not said to the rich, but to the dis- again belongs to ver. 28, not to ver. 81; see

oiples. The very warning conveyed in Matt. v. 46 ff. 83 ff.] thank corresponds

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

23—39.

ST. LUKE.

831

hoping for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great,

and ye shall be ■ the children of the Highest : for he is

kind unto the unthankful and* to the evil. 86 Be ye

[* therefore'] merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37 * Judge not, and ye shall not be judged : ** condemn

not, and ye shall not be condemned : forgive, and ye shall

be forgiven : 38 ° give, and it shall be given unto you ; good c pwt. xix. 17.

measure, pressed down, [*and~\ shaken together, [v««rf]

running over, shall w men give into your d bosom. For*p».i»dx.i2.

•with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be • JgjyVis.

measured to you again. so And he x spake a parable unto

8 render, sons. * omitted by many ancient authorities.

u render, And judge not. uu render, and condemn not. v omit.

w not expressed in the original. Better, shall they give, leaving the persons
uncertain : see note. x render, spake also.

to "reward" Matthew (see note on Matt,
v. 12). 85. hoping for nothing again]
The original word is a difficult one. Three
renderings of it have been given — (1) the
ordinary one, as in the text, not expecting
any payment from them : so Euthymius
and others. This meaning of the word is
unexampled, though agreeing with the
context. (2) * causing no one to despair,'
i. e. refusing no one ; so the ancient Syriac
version renders it. (8) 'not despairing,'
i.e. 'without anxiety about the result.'
This last sense of the word is best sup-
ported by examples. But as it is a word
only once occurring in the New Testament,
perhaps the force of the context should
prevail, and the ordinary interpretation be
adopted, as there is nothing in analogy
to forbid the meaning. ions of the

Highest] Meyer maintains that this must
mean ' sons of God ' in the sense of par-
taken of the glory of the Messiah's King-
dom, but without reference to the state of
believers in this life, which last he says is
according to the usage of St. Paul, not of
the three first Evangelists. But surely
this is sufficiently answered by your Father
in the next verse, where the actual present
sonship to our heavenly Father is a reason
why we should imitate Him. 86.]

merciful— equivalent to "perfect," Matt,
v. 48, which last is the larger description,
comprehending in it charity and mercy;
see note there. 87.] Matt. vii. 1, 2.

The saying is much enriched and expanded
here; perhaps it was so uttered by our
Lord on souae other occasion; for the con-
nexion is very strict in Matthew, and
would hardly bear this expansion of what
is not in that place the leading idea.

38.1 The similitude is taken from a very
full measure of some dry thing, such as
corn. That no liquid is intended by run-
ning over, as Bengel supposes, is evident —
for the three present participles all apply
to the same good measure, and form a
climax. shall they give] The subject

of this verb answers to the unexpressed
agents of it shall be measured again;
such agents being indefinite, and the
meaning thereby rendered solemn and em-
phatic; see on ch. xii. 20. If we are
to find a 110m., it should be the Angels,
who are in this matter the ministers of
the divine purposes. This saying

is fonnd with a totally different import
Mark iv. 24; one of the many instances
how the Lord turned about, so to speak,
the Light of Truth contained in His de-
clarations, so as to shine upon different
departments of life and thought. 89.]

From this verse to the end is in the closest
connexion, and it it impossible that it
should -consist of sayings thrown together
and uttered at different times. The

connexion with what went before is not so
evident, indeed the spake a parable unto
them seems to shew a break. The para-
bolic saying, implying the unfitness of an
uncharitable and unjustly condemning
leader (the Lord was speaking primarily
to Sis Apostles) to perform his office, leads
to the assertion [ver. 40] that no Christian
ought to assume in this respect an office of
judging which his Master never assumed ;
but rather will every well-instructed Chris-
tian strive to be humble as his Master was.
Then follows the reproof of vv. 41—48 ;
and vv. 44, 46 and 46—49 shew us, ex-
panded in different images, what the beam

Digitized by VjOOQIC

h smPtot.
xrllL 17.

332 ST. LUKE. VI. 40—49.

fM«tt. xr. u. them, f Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both

r£to&ufi Ml into tne diteh? 40gThe disciple is not above his
XT,8°* master : but every one that is perfect shall be as his
master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in
thy, brother's eye, but Jperceivest not the beam that is in
thine own eye ? *2 H Either how canst thou say to thy
brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine
eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in
thine own eye ? Thou hypocrite, h cast out first the beam,
out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to
pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. w For ■ a
good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit ; * neither doth a

ixmlulm. corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. **For 'every tree is
known by his own fruit. For of thorns * men do not
gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that which is good ; and an evil man out of
the evil [°D treasure of his heart] bringeth forth that which is
evil : for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

kJiSt!*x*V.u.4fl kAnd why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the

ch.xiii.». things which I say? 4? Whosoever cometh to me, and

heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to

whom he is like : ^ he is like a man ° which built an house,

d and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock : and

' 7 render, Considerest, as in Matt. vii. 3, where the word is the tame.
3T read, But.

1 render, no good tree bringeth forth. a read, neither again.

^ not expressed in the original. ■• omit.

c render, building. d render, who digged, and went deep.

in the eye is, to which our first efforts If thy Itfe is evil, it is in vain to pretend

must be directed. Can the blind lead to teach others. 45.] Again, the

the blind 1] See this in quite another con- closest connexion of sense and argument ;

nexion, Matt. xv. 14, where Peter answers, nor, as some say, is this verse put here

"Declare unto us this parable" — meaning because of the similarity of the preceding

apparently the last uttered words, which verses to Matt. xii. 33 reminding the com-

the Lord however explains not specifically, piler of ver. 36 there. Da these expositors

but by entering into the whole matter. I suppose that our Lord only once spoke

believe this parable to have been one of each of these central sayings, and with

the usual and familiar sayings of our Lord, only one reference,! 46— 48.] The

40.] See above. perfect, i. e. fully connexion goes on here also — and oar Lord
instructed— perfect, in the sense of ' well- descends into the closest personal search-
conditioned,' knowing what is his duty, ing of the life and heart, and gives His
and consistently endeavouring to do it. judicial declaration of the end of the hypo-

41.] Some have imagined a break in crite, whether teacher or private Christian;

the sense here, and a return to Matt. vii. — see notes on Matthew. 48.] digged,

3 f. ;— but the whole is in the strictest con- and went deep — not merely as m A. V.,

nexion; see above. 43.] The corrupt «« digged deep," but, as Bengel observes,

fruit answers to the " beam in the eye" the description grows as it proceeds : he

Digitized by VjOOQIC

VII. 1—10. ST. LUKE. 883

when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon
that house, and could not shake it: *for it was /bunded
upon a rock. *° But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like
a man that without a foundation built an house upon the
earth ; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and
immediately it fell ; and the ruin of that house was great.

VII. * Now when he had ended all his sayings in the
audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. % And
a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was
sick, and ready to die. 8 And when he heard of Jesus, he
sent unto him [' the] elders of the Jews, beseeching him
that he would come and heal his servant. 4 And when
they came to Jesus, they besought him & instantly, saying,
That he was worthy for whom he should do this : 6 for he
loveth our nation, and * he [* hath] built us k a synagogue.
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not
far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him,
saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not
worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 where-
fore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee :
but say in a word, and l my servant shall be healed. 8 For
I also am a man set under authority, having under me
soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to
another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do
this, and he doeth it. 9 When Jesus heard these things,
he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto
the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And they that

• read, because it was well built. f omit.

8 i.e. earnestly. h render, himself.

i omit. * render, OUT.

1 read, with tome ancient authorities, let my servant be healed.

dug, and deepened as he dag : was not expense. 7.] wherefore, on account

content with one digging, but kept going of his unworthiness; which unworthiness

deeper. itself may be connected with the fact, that

Chap. VII. 1 — 10.] Healing- op the entering his house would entail ceremonial

centurion's sbbvant. Matt. viii. 6—13. uncleanness till the evening. St. Matthew

In Matthew also placed after the Sermon does not express this clause, having the

on the Mount, but with the healing of the narrative in a form which precludes it.

leper in our ch. 6. 12 ff. interposed. Our See notes there. The neither brings

narrative is fuller than that in Matthew in into emphasis, not "myself," as distin-

the beginning of the miracle, not so full at guished from others, bat the whole follow-

the end. See notes on Matthew. ing clause; "neither did I adopt that

8.] Elders- not elders of the synagogue course." 9.] After this there is an

(who in Luke are rulers of the synagogue, important addition in Matthew on the

" archisynagogi," Acts xiii. 16), but of the adoption of the Gentiles, and rejection of

people. 6.] himself i. e. at hit own Israel who shewed no such faith.

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834

ST. LUKE.

VII.

ft oh. Till. 54.
Johnxl.4*.
Acta lx. 40.
Bom. It. 17.

bob. I. «6.

c ob. zziT. 10.
John It. 10:
rl. 14: lx.17.

were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole
that had been sick.

11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into
a city called Nain ; and many of his disciples went with
him, and much people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the
gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man m carried
out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow : and
much people of the city was with her. 1S And when the
Lord saw her, he bad compassion on her, and said unto
her, Weep not. l4f And he came and touched the bier :
and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young
man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 a And he that was dead
sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his
mother. 16 b And there came a fear on all : and they
glorified God, saying, c That a great prophet is risen up

m render, being carried.

10.] Here Matthew simply states the fact
of the healing, apparently not knowing of
any having been sent.

11 — 16.] Raising of a dead man at
Naik. Peculiar to Lake. NAIN occurs
no where else in the Bible. It was a town
of Galilee not far from Capernaum, a few
miles to the south of Mount Tabor, 'on
the northern slope of the rugged and
barren ridge of Little Hermon, Stanley.
A poor village has been found in this
situation with ruins of old buildings. See
Robinson, iii. 226. See Stanley's descrip-
tion, Sinai and Palestine, p. 857, edn. 8.
This is one of the three greatest
recorded miracles of our Lord : of which
it has been observed, that He raised one
(Jairus's daughter) when just dead, — one
on the way to burial,— and one (Lazarus)
who had been buried four day*.
12. being carried out.] The Jews ordi-
narily buried outside the gates of their
cities. The kings however of the house
of David were buried in the city of -David;
and it was a denunciation on Jehoiakini
that he should be buried with the burial
of an ass, drawn forth and cast beyond
the gate* of Jerusalem. Jer. xxii. 19. "One
entrance alone Nain could have had ; that
which Opens on the rough hill-side in its
downward slope to the plain. It must
have been in this steep descent," &c,
Stanley, as above. 14.] The bier

was an open coffin. There was something
in the manner of onr Lord which caused
the bearers to stand still. We need not
suppose any miraculous influence over
them. All three raisings from the

dead are wrought with words of power, —
'Damsel, arise/ — 'Young man, arise,' —
'* Lazarus, come forth.' Trench quotes an
eloquent passage from Massillon's ser-
mons (Miracles, p. 241), — 'Elie ressus-
cite des morts, c*est vrai; mais il est
oblige de se coucher plusieurs fbis sur le
corps de l'enfant qu'il ressuscite : il souffle,
il se r£tr£cit, il s'agite : on voit bien qu'il
invoque une puissance 6trangere; qu'il
rappelle de l'empire de la mort une ame
qui n'est pas soumise a- sa voix : et qu'il
n'est pas lui-mdme le maitre de la mort
et de la' vie. J6sus-Christ ressuscite les
morts comme il fait les actions les plus
communes : il parle en maitre k ceux
qui dorment d'un sommeil 6ternel: et
Ton sent bien qu'il est le Dieu des morts
comme des vivans,— jamais plus tranquille
que lorsqu'il op&re les plus grandee choses.*
15. he delivered him to hit mother]
Doubtless there was a deeper reason than
the mere consoling of the widow, (of whom
there were many m Israel now as before-
time,) that influenced our Lord to work
this miracle. Olshausen remarks, "A refer-
ence in this miracle to the raised man
himself is by no means excluded. Man,
as a conscious being, can never be a mere
means to an end, which would here be
the case, if we suppose the consolation of
the mother to have been the only object
for which the young man was raised."
He goes on to say that the hidden intent
was probably the spiritual awakening of
the yonth ; which would impart a deeper
meaning to delivered him to his mother,
and make her joy to be a true and abiding

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11—27. ST. LUKE. 335

among us; and, dThat God hath visited his people. * «*•*•*•
J7 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all
Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.
18 And the disciples of John shewed him of all these
things. 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples
sent them to n Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should
come, or look we for another ? 2° When the men were
come unto him, they said, John ° Baptist hath sent us unto
thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or look we for
another? 21 And in that [00same] hour he cured many of
[P their], infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits ; and
unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then PP Jesus
answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John
what things ye have seen and heard; e how that the blind ebfcnxv-8'
see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, fto the poor the gospel is preached. '*■>»■"•
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
84 And when the messengers of John were departed, he
began to speak unto the * people concerning John, What
went ye out into the wilderness for to r see ? A reed
shaken with the wind ? & But what went ye out for to see ?
A man clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they which are
gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings'
courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see ? A prophet ?
Yea> I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he, of whom it is written, & Behold, I send my riLu.uf.1.

n read, the Lord. ° render, the Baptist. 00 omit.

P omit : not expressed in the original. PP read, he.

4 render, multitudes, as in Matt, xi 7, where the word is the same.
r render, gaze upon. (The word in w. 25, 26 is different.)

one. 16.] fear, the natural result of u the works of Christ" in Matthew. On
witnessing a direct exhibition of divine the common parts, see notes on Matthew,
power : compare ch. v. 8. a great where I have discussed at length the pro-
prophet] For they had only been the bable reason of the enquiry. 21.] This
greatest of prophets who had before raised fact follows by inference from Matthew,
the dead, — Elijah and Elisha ; and the ver. 4 : for they could not tell John •.' what
Prophet who was to come was doubtless they saw" unless our Lord were employed
in their minds. in works of healing at the time. Observe
16—86.] Message op enquiry fbom that St. Luke, himself a physician, distin-
thb Baptist : ouxt Lord's am s wee, guishes between the diseased and the po*~
and discourse to the multitudes sessed. 22 f.] Nearly verbatim as Mat-
theeeon. Matt. xi. 2—19. Tho incident thew. The expression the dead are raised
there holds a different place, coming after does not necessarily imply that more than
the sending out of the Twelve in ch. x. ; — one such miracle had taken place : the
but neither there nor here is it marked by plural is generic, signifying that some of
any definite note of time. 18.] all these the class fell under that which is predi-
thlng8 here may extend very wide : so may cated of them. 84— 2$.] See Matthew.

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336 ST. LUKE. VII.

messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way
before thee. M [■ For] I say unto you, Among those that
are born of woman there is not a greater [* prophet] than
John [» the Baptist] : but he that is least in the kingdom of
God is greater than he. 29 And all the people that heard

h£ui."ii*' him, and the publicans, justified God, h being baptized with
the baptism of John. so But the Pharisees and lawyers

i Act" a. i7. rejected !the counsel of God v against themselves, being
not baptized of him. S1 [w And the Lord said,] Where-
unto then shall I liken the men of this generation ? and
to what are they like ? 82 They are like unto children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and
saying, We [*have] piped unto you, and ye Y have not
.danced; we [x have] mourned to you, and ye * have not

kit.tt.iu. *. wept. S3 For kJohn the Baptist *came neither eating
oh.i.15. bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
3* The Son of man is come eating and drinking ; and ye
say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend
of publicans and sinners ! ^ But wisdom is justified of all
her children.

9 omit.

t omitted by many ancient authorities : but perhaps because it is not in the parallel
place in Matt. xi. 11.

* omit. v render, towards.

w omit, with nearly all the authorities. x omit.

7 render, did not dance. z render, did not weep.

a render, IS CO me.

29, 80.] It has been imagined that times by Grotins, Schleiermacher, Ewald,
these words are a continuation of our and Hug: and recently by Bleek. But
Lord's discourse, but surely they would the only particular common to the two
thus be most unnatural. They are evi- (unless indeed we account the name of the
dently a parenthetical insertion of the host to be such, which is hardly worth
Evangelist, expressive not of what had recounting), is the anointing itself: and
taken place during John's baptism, but of even that is not strictly the same. The
the present effect of our Lord's discourse character of the woman, — the description
on the then assembled multitude. Their of the host,— the sayings uttered,— the
whole diction and form is historical, not time, — all are different. And if the pro-
belonging to discourse. See likewise a bability of this occurring twice is to be
grammatical objection to this rendering questioned, we may fairly say, that an
in my Greek Test. 31—86.] See on action of this kind, which bad* been once
Matthew, vv. 16—19. commended hy our Lord, was very likely
36—50.] Anointing op Jesus' feet to have been repeated, and especially at
BY A penitent woman. Peculiar to such a time as • six days before the last
Luke. It is hardly possible to imagine Passover,' and by one anointing Him for
that this history can relate to the same His burial. 1 may add, that there
incident as that detailed Matt. xxvi. 6; is not the least reason for supposing the
Mark xiv. 3 ; John xii. 3 : although such woman in this incident to have been Mary
an opiuion has been entertained from the Magdalene. The introduction of her as a
earliest times. Origen mentions and con- new person so soon after (ch. viii. 2), and
trovertsit. It has been held in modern what is there stated of her, make the notion

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28—40.

ST. LUKK

837

86 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he* would
eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house,
and sat down to meat. 87 And, behold, a woman *in the
city, which was a sinner, when she knew that • Jesus sat at
meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of
ointment, M and stood at his feet behind him weeping,
and began to wash his feet with * tears, and did wipe
them with the hairs of her head, and '• kissed his feet, and
anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the
Pharisee whieh had bidden him saw it, he spake within
himself, saying, 1This man, if he were a prophet, would i <*. xy.i.
have known who and what manner of woman this is that
toucheth him : for she is a sinner. *° And Jesus answer-

• read and render, which was a sinner in the city ; or, which was in
the city, a sinner : see note,

• render, he. d render, the tears.

• literally, eagerly kissed : see on Matt. xxvi. 49.

exceedingly improbable. 86.] The

exact lime and place are indeterminate—
the occasion of St. Luke's inserting the
history here may have been the Mend of
publicans and sinners in ver. 84. Wieseler
places it at Nain, which certainly is the
last city that has been named: but it is
more natural to suppose in the city to refer
only to the house before — the city where
the house was. Meyer thinks that the
definite article points out Capernaum. The
position of the words in the city in the
amended text requires a different rendering
from * a woman in the city which was a
sinner.' We must either render,, 'which
was a sinner in the city/ i.e. known as
such in the place by public repute, — carry-
ing on a sinful occupation in the place,—
or (2) regard whieh was in the city as
parenthetic, 'a woman which was in the
city, a sinner.' The latter seems prefer-
able. 87.] a sinner, in the sense usually
understood — a prostitute: but, by the
context, penitent. was is not how-

ever to be rendered as if it were "had
been." She was, even up to this time (see
ver. 89), a prostitute— and this was the
first manifestation of her penitence. "What
wonder that such should fly to Christ, seeing
that they had also come to the baptism of
John?" Matt. xxi. 82 (Grotius). It is pos-
sible, that the woman may have just heard
the closing words of the discourse concern-
ing John, Matt. xi. 28—30; but I would
not press this, on account of the obvions
want of sequence in this part of our Gospel.
The behaviour of the woman certainly
Vol. I.

implies that she had heard our Lord, and
been awakened by His teaching,
an alabaster box: for the word, Ac, see
on Matt. xxvi. 7. Our Lord would,

after the ordinary custom of persons at
table, be reclining on a couch, on the left
side, turned towards the table, and His
feet would be behind Him. She seems to
have embraced His feet (see Matt, xxvuu
9), as it wss also the Jews' custom to do
by way of honour and affection to their
Rabbis (see Wetstein on this passage), and
kissed them, and in doing so to have shed
abundant tears, which, felling on them,
she wiped off with her hair. From the
form of expression in the original (see in
my Greek Test.), it does not appear that
this latter was an intentional part of ber
honouring our Lord. It was the tears,
implied in the word weeping, — the tears
whieh she shed,— not 'her tears,9 which
would be otherwise expressed. The oimt-'
went here has a peculiar interest, as being
the offering by a penitent of that which
had been an accessory in her unhallowed
work of sin. 89.] The Pharisee assumes
that our Lord did not know who, or of
what sort, this woman was, and thence
doubts His being a prophet (see ver. 16) ;
— the possibility of His knowing this and
permitting it, never so much as occurs to
him. It was the touching by an unclean
person, which constituted the defilement.
This is all that the Pharisee fixes on : his
offence is merely technical and ceremonial.
40.] answering— perhap to the
disgust maxnTested in the Pharisee's conn*
Z

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338

ST. LUKE.

VII.

ing said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto
thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a
certain creditor which had two debtors : the one owed five
hundred * pence, and the other fifty. ** And when they
* had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. [* Tell
me] therefore, which of them will love him most? tt Simon

* render, denarii. 9 render, could not.

* not in many ancient authorities. If omitted, render, Which of them

therefore, &c.

U forgiven, tin in such a connexion must
be the subjective debt which is felt to
exist, not the objective one, the magnitude
of which we never can know, but God only :
see on ver. 47 below. Ave hundred

• * • fifty— a very different ratio from
the ten thousand talents and the hundred
pence (denarii) in Matt, xviii. 21—85,
because there it is intended to shew us
how insignificant our sins towards one
another are in comparison with the offence
of us all before God. 42. when they
could not pay, he frankly forgave them
both] What depth of meaning there is in
these words, if we reflect Who said them,
and by what means this forgiveness was to
be wrought ! Observe that the could not
pay is pregnant with more than at first
appears i—how is this incapacity discovered
to the creditor in the parable P how, but
by themselves f Here then is the sense
and confession of sin; not a bare objective
fact, followed by a decree of forgiveness :
but the incapacity is an avowed one, the
forgiveness is a personal one, — them both,
which of them wffl lore him meet!]
The difficulty usually found in this ques-
tion and its answer is not wholly removed
by the subjective nature of the parable.
For the sense of sin, if wholesome and
rational, must bear a proportion, as indeed
in this case it did, to the actual sins com-
mitted : and then we seem to come to the
false conclusion, 'The more sin, the more
love: let us then sin, that we may love
the more.' And I believe this difficulty is
to be removed by more accurately con-
sidering what the love is which is here
spoken of. It is an unquestionable met,
that the deepest penitents are, in one kind
of love for Him who has forgiven them,
the most devoted ;— in that, namely, which
consists in personal sacrifice, and proofs of
earnest attachment to the blessed Saviour
and His cause on earth. But it is no less
an unquestionable fact, that this Voce is
not the highest form of the spiritual life ;
that such persons are, by their very course
of sin, incapacitated from entering into
the length, breadth, and height, and being

tenance; for that must have been the
ground on which the narrative relates ver.
39. We must not however forget that
in similar cases "Jesus knowing their
thoughts" is inserted (Matt. ix. 4), and
doubtless might also have been here.
There is an tuner personal appeal in the
words addressing the Pharisee. The calling
by name— the especial I have somewhat to
say unto thee refer to the inner thoughts
of the heart, and at once bring the answer
master, say on, so different from "This
man, jf he were a prophet" 41.] We
must remember that our Lord is here
setting forth the matter primarily with
reference to Simon's subjective view of
himself, and therefore not strictly as re-
gards the actual comparative sinfulness
of these two before God. Though how-
ever not to be pressed, the ease may have
been so : and, I am inclined to think, was
so. The clear light of truth in which
every word of His was spoken, will hardly
allow us to suppose that such an admission
would have been made to the Pharisee, if
it had not really been so in feet. But see
more below. two debtors] The

debtors are the prominent persons in the
parable — the creditor is necessary indeed
to it, but is in the background. And this
remark is important — for on bearing it
carefully in mind the right understanding
of the parable depends. The Lord speaks
from the position of the debtors, and ap-
plies to their case the considerations of
ordinary gratitude and justice. And in
doing so it is to be noticed, that He makes
an assumption for the purpose of the para-
ble : — that sin is proportionate to the sense
of sin, just as a debt is felt to the amount
of the debt. The disorganisation of our
moral nature, the deadly sedative effect of
sin in lulling the conscience, which renders
the greatest sinner the least ready for peni-
tence, does not here come into considera-
tion ; the examples being two persons, both
aware of their debt. This assumption it-
self is absolutely necessary for the para-
ble : for if forgiveness is to awaken love in
proportion to the magnitude of that which

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41—47.

ST. LUKE.

339

answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave

most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

** And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon,

Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou

gavest me no water for my feet : hut she [}hath] washed

my feet with tears, and wiped them with J the hair* of her

head. *5 Thou gavest me no kiss : but this woman since

the time I came in hath not ceased k to kiss my feet.

46,11 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: hut l this **•• »«**.*.

woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. *7 n Where- aina.LM.

fore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are

* omii.

k literally, eagerly to kiss.

fitted with all the fulness of Christ; that
their views are generally narrow, their
aims one-aided :— that though love be the
greatest of the Christian graces, there are
various kinds of it; and though the love
of the reclaimed profligate may be and is
intense of its kind, (and how touching
and beautiful its manifestations are, as
here!) yet that kind is not so high nor
complete as the sacrifice of the whole
life, — the bud, blossom, and fruit, — to His
service to whom we were in baptism dedi-
cated. For even on the ground of the
parable itself, in that life there is a con-
tinually freshened sense of the need, and
the assurance, of pardon, ever awaking
devoted and earnest love. In the I

suppose of Simon, we have, understood,
"that is, if they feel as they ought."
44— 46.J It would not appear
that Simon had been deficient in the
ordinary courtesies paid by a host to
his guests — for these, though marks of
honour sometimes paid, were not (even the
washing of the feet, except when coming
from a journey) invariably paid to guests :
— but that he had taken no particular
pains to shew affection or reverence for his
Guest. Respecting water for the feet, see
Gen. xviii. 4; Judg. xix. 21. Observe the
contrasts here :— water, tears,— the blood
of the heart, as Augustine calls them :—
thou gavest me no kiss (on the face),—
eagerly kissing my feet:— with oil my
head,— my feet with ointment (which was
more precious). 46. since the time I

came in] These words will explain one
difficulty in the circumstances of the
anointing : how such a woman came into
the guest-chamber of such a Pharisee.
She appears by them to have entered
simultaneously with our Lord and Mis
disciples. Nor do w. 36, 37 at all pre*

J read, her hairs.

1 render, she anointed.

dude this idea : — the words of the original
in ver. 37 may mean, 'having knowledge
that He was going to dine/ Ac. If she
came in Hb train, the Pharisee would not
exclude her, as He was accustomed to
gather such to hear Him: it was the
touching at which he wondered.
47.] This verse has been found very diffi-
cult to fit into the lesson conveyed by the
Parable. But I think there need be little
difficulty, if we regard it thus. Simon

had been offended at the uncleanness of
the woman who touched our Lord. He,
having given the Pharisee the instruction
contained in the parable, and having
d»wn the oontnut Ween the womrt?
conduct and his, now assures him, * Where-
fore, seeing this is bo, I say unto thee, she
is no longer unclean— her many sins are
forgiven : for (thou seest that) she loved
much: her conduct towards Me shews
that love, which is a token that her sins
are forgiven/ Thus the clauses are not
connected by the causative particle, 'be-
cause she loved much/ but, as rightly
rendered in A. V., for she loved much:
'for she has shewn that love, of which
thou mauest conclude, from what thou hast
heard, that it is the effect of a sense of
forgiveness' Thus Bengel says, "The re-
mission of sins, not imagined by Simon, is
proved by its fruit, ver. 42, which latter
is evident and meets the eye, whereas
the other is hidden from us: "—and
Galovius, " Christ was using that kind of
proof which is called A posteriori." But
there is a deeper consideration in this
solution, which the words of the Lord in
ver. 48 bring before us. The sense of for-
giveness of sin is not altogether correspon-
dent to the sense of forgiveness of a debt.
The latter must be altogether past, and a
fact to be looked back on, to awaken.

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340

ST. LUKE.

VII. 48— 50.

forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth little. ** And he said unto her,
0 Thy sins are forgiven. *& And they that sat at meat
with him began to say within themselves, p Who is this
that forgiveth sins also ? w And he said to the woman,

* Thy faith hath saved thee; go m in peace.
VIII. l And it came to pass afterward, that he mm went

throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing
the glad tidings of the kingdom of God : and the twelve
[n were] with him, s and * certain women, which had been
healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magda*
bMftrkxvi.o. lene, bout of whom °went seven devils, 8 and Joanna the
wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many
others, which ministered unto Vhim of their substance.

* And when much people were 4 gathered together, and
were r come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable :

m literally, to peace. I0M render, journeyed. n omit.

p Miiit. Iz. 8.
Mark U. 7.

qMatt.ix.tt.
Mark r. 84:
x.5i. eh.

TlH. 48:
XViil.43.

aMatt-xxTlL
58,58.

0 render, had Come.
4 render, gathering.

gratitude: the former, by no means so.
the expectation, the dedre, and hop, of
forgiveness, the faith of ver. 60, awoke
this love ; just as in our Christian life, the
love daily awakened by a sense of forgive-
ness, yet is gathered under and summed
up in a general faith and expectation, that
'in that day' all will be found to have
been forgiven. The remission (forgive-
ness) of sins, into which we have been
baptized, and in which we live, yet waits
for that great " Thy tint are forgiven
thee" which He will then pronounce,
she loved much— viz. in the acts
related in w. 44—46. Remark that

the assertion regarding Simon is not "few
tine are forgiven," but "little is for-
given;" stamping the subjective character
of the part relating to him : — he felt,
or cared about, but Utile forgiveness, and
his little love shewed this to be so.
49.] This appears to have been said,
not in a hostile, but a reverential spirit.
Perhaps the also alludes to the miracles
wrought in the presence of John's mes-
sengers. 60. — See on ver. 47. The
woman's faith embraced as her own, and
awoke her deepest love on account of,
that forgiveness, which the Lord now
first formally pronounced. in (lite-
rally into) peace: sec 1 Sam. i. 17; not
only 'in peace,' but implying the state of
mind to which she might now look forward.
Chap. VIII. 1—8.] Jesus makes a

CIBOUIT, TEACHING A2TD HEALIKG, WITH

P ready them.

r render, coming.

His twelve dibcipleb, awi> xnasTSB-
ixg women. Peculiar to Luke. A gene-
ral notice of our Lord's travelling and
teaching in Galilee, and of the women,
introduced again in ch. zxiiL 55 ; xxiv. 10,
who ministered to Him. 2.1 seven

devils : see ver. 80. 8.] Prof. Blunt

has observed in his Coincidences, that we
find a reason here why Herod should say
to his servants (Matt. ziv. 2), 'This is
John the Baptist,' Ac., viz.— because his
steward's wife was a disciple of Jesus, and
so there would be frequent mention of
Him among the servants in Herod's court.
This is Herod Antipas. Joanna

is mentioned again ch. xxiv. 10, and-again
in company with Mary Magdalene and
others. Susanna is not again mentioned,
ministered, providing food, and
giving other necessary attentions,
unto them, viz. the Lord and His Apostles.
4 — 15.] Pabablb op the Soweb,
Matt. xiii. 1-8, 18—28. Mark iv. 1—20.
For the parable and its explanation, see
notes on Matthew, where I have also noticed
the varieties of expression here and in Mark.
On the relation of the three accounts to
one another, see notes on Mark. Our
Lord had retired to Capernaum, — and
thither this multitude were flocking toge-
ther to Him. 4.] The present participle
gathering, is overlooked by the A. V.: as is
also coming to him ; literally coming up
one after another. It was the desire of those
who had been impressed by His discourses

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VIII. 1—16. ST. LUKE. 341

6 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as lie sowed,
some fell by the way side ; and it was trodden down, and
the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon ■ a
rock ; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away,
because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among
t thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

8 And other fell on *good ground, and sprang up, and
bare fruit an hundredfold. And v when he had said these
things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this
parable be ? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of Hie kingdom of God : but to

w others in parables; cthat seeing they * might not see, and oim. vi.9.
hearing they * might not understand. ll Now the parable
is this : The seed is the -word of God. 12 Those by the
way side are they that hear ; then cometh the devil, and
taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should
believe and be saved. 1S They on the rock are they,
which, when they 7 hear, receive the word with joy ; and
these have no root, which "for a while believe, and in
time of temptation fall away. u And that which fell
among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go
forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures
of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 16 But that
on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good
heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth dJutt t1|l
fruit * with patience. lfl d No man, when he hath lighted JKlm.11*

0 render, the. * render, the thorns.

11 render, the good ground. v render, in saying.

w render, the rest. x render, may.

J render, have heard. s see note on Matt. xiii. 20.
* render, in.

and miracles to be farther tanght, that willing to be taught, and humble enough

brought them together to Him now. He to receive with meekness the engrafted

spoke this parable sitting- in a boat, and word. It is of these that our Lord here

the multitude on the shore. 14.] speaks; of this kind was Nathanael, the

this life belongs to all three substantives. Israelite indeed in whom was no guile,

15.1 It has been said, on Matthew, John L 48 : see also John xviiL 87, " Every

ver. 28, that all receptivity of the seed is one that is of the truth, heareth My voice,7'

from God — and all men have receptivity and Trench on the Parables, in loc . .

enough to make it matter of condemnation in patience — consistently, through the

to them that they receive it not in earnest, course of a life spent in duties, and amidst

and bring not forth fruit. But there is in discouragements-— "A* that endmreth unto

this very receptivity a wide difference be- the end, the same shall be saved," Matt.

tween men; some being false-hearted, xziv. 18.

hating the truth, deceiving themselves,— 16— XU Mark iv* 21~~ **» where see

others being earnest and simple-minded, notes. The sayings occur in several parts

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oh.zil.1.

ST. LUKE. VIIL

a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a
bed ; bnt setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter
in may see the light. 17 • For nothing is secret, that shall
not be made manifest ; neither any thing hid, that shall
not be known and come D abroad. 18 Take heed therefore
f S^i'd?1 k°w ye hear : f for whosoever hath, to him shall be given ;
***"*" and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that
which he seemeth to have.

19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and
could not come at him for • the jure**. *° And it was told
him [*jy certain which said], Thy mother and thy
brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And he
answered and said unto them, My mother and my
brethren are these which hear the word of God, and
do it.

88 Now it came to pass on • a certain day, that he went
into a ship with his disciples : and he said unto them, Let
us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they
launched forth. M But as they sailed he fell asleep : and
there came down a storm of wind on the lake ; and they
were ' filled with water, and were in jeopardy. ** And
they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master,
we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the

D render, to light. • render, the multitude.

* omitted by many ancient authorities. • literally, one of the days.

' render, filling.

of Matthew (▼. 15; z. 86; xiii. 12), bat without fixing its place. His account is
in other connexions. Euthym. remarks abridged, and without marks of an eye-
well, " It is likely that Christ spoke such witness, which the others have,
sayings as these at different times." On 22—86.] Jesus, crossing the lake,
the meaning of the separate sayings, see btills the stobh. Matt. viii. 18, 23 —
notes on the passages in Matthew. Ob- 27. Mark iv. 86—41. The chronology of
serve that ver. 18, how ye hear is " what this occurrence would be wholly uncertain,
ye hear" in Mark, and seemeth to have were it not for the precision of St. Mark,
is "hath" in Mark. who has introduced it by "the same day,
19—21.] The kothbb and bbbtkbxv when the even was come* i. e. on the same
09 Jbbub seek to BEX HlV. Matt. xii. day in which the. preceding parables were
46—60. Mark iiL 81 — 86. The incident is delivered. How- it has come to be mis-
introduced here without any precise note placed in Matthew, must ever be matter
of sequence ; not so in St. Matthew, who of obscurity. The met that it is so, is no
says, after the discourse in ch. xit, "while less unquestionable, than the proof that it
he was yet speaking to the multitudes" furnishes of the independence of the two

and St. Mark " There came then" other Evangelist*. 22. on one of the

haying before stated, ver. 21, that days] This serves to shew that St. Luke

His relations went out to lay hold of Him, had no data by which he could fix the

— for they said, " He is beside Himself." following events. If he had seen the

We must conclude therefore that they have Gospel of St. Mark, could this have been so ?

it in the exact place, and that St. Luke 28.] came down — from the sky, — or

only inserts it among the events of this perhaps from the mountain valleys around :

series of discourses, as indeed it was, but see Matt. vii. 27, and note on Acts xxvii.

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

17—80. ST. LUKE. 848

raging of the water : and they ceased, and there was a
calm. 25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith ?
And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another,
What manner of man is this, S/or he commandeth even
the winds and water, and they obey him ?

26 And they * arrived at the country of the * Gadarenes,
which is over against Galilee. *l And when he went forth
to land, there met him k ont of the city a certain man,
which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither
abode in any house, but in the tombs. ** When he saw
Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a
loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou
Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
89 For he 1 had commanded the unclean spirit to come out
of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him : and he
was kept m bound with chains and [* in] fetters ; and • he
brake the bands, and too* driven of Pthe devil into the
wilderness. *° And Jesus asked him saying, What is thy

ff render, that. k literally, sailed down to.

1 read here, Gerasenes. k render, a certain man out of the city.

1 render, was commanding. » render, bound, guarded with . . .

n omit. ° render, breaking the bands, he was driven.

p i.e. not "the Devil," personal: but the dsBmon which possessed him.

14. 94.1 See note* on Matthew. That one should have been prominent, and
85.] In Matthew this reproof comet before the spokesman, is of course possible, but
the stilling of the storm. But our account, such a hypothesis does not help us one
and that in Mark, are here evidently whit. Where two healings take place,
exact. narrators do not commonly, being fully
96—99.] Hsamko- o» ▲ DiBXONiAO nr aware of this, relate in the singular : and
the laud os the Gerabekbs. Matt this is the phamomenon to be accounted
viii. 28—34. Mark v. 1—20, in both of for. It is at least reasonable to assign
which places see notes. 96.] over accuracy in such a case to the more
against Galilee, a more precise description detailed and chronologically inserted ac-
than " the other side," Matthew, or « the counts ofcSt Mark and St. Luke. ware
other side of the sea," Mark. 97.] no clothes is to be taken literally. The
ant of the city belongs not to met him propensity to go entirely naked is a well-
as in A. V., but to a certain man— a known symptom in certain kinds of raving
certain man of the city. The man did madness : see Trench, Miracles, p. 167,
not come from the city, but from the notef. 99.] ho waa commanding,
tombs. I put to any reader the ques- imperfect tense : in the midst of this
tion, whether it were possible for either ordering, and as a consequence of it, the
St. Mark or St. Luke to have drawn up possessed man cried out, as in last verse,
their account from Matthew, or with Mat- brake the bands] The unnatural
thew before them, seeing that he mentions increase of muscular strength is also ob-
two possessed throughout ? Would no no- served in cases of raving madness (as
tice be taken of this P Then indeed would indeed also in those of any strong con-
the Evangelists be but poor witnesses to the centration of the will); see Trench as
truth, if they could consciously allow such above. SO.] Lightroot (on Mark v. 9)
a discrepancy to go forth. Of the discre- quotes instances of the use of legion
pancy itself, no solution has been proposed (made into a Hebrew word) for a great
which can satisfy any really critical mind, number, in the Rabbinical writings. The

Digitized by VjOOQIC

844 ST. LUKE. . VHX

name ? And lie said, Legion : because many devils were
entered into him. 81 And they besought him that he

t Bff.ii. •. would not command them to go out « into the 4 deep. 32 And
there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the moun-
tain : and they besought him that he would suffer them to
enter into them. And he suffered them. M Then went the
devils out of the man, and entered into the swine : and the
herd ran violently down r a steep place into the lake, and
were choked. ** When they that fed them saw what was
done, they fled, [" and toenf] and told it in the city and in
the country. M Then they went out to see what was done ;
and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the
devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed,
and in his right mind : and they were afraid. M They
also which saw it told them by what means he that was
possessed of the devils was healed. 87 B Then the whole
multitude of the country * of the Gadarenes round about

hAcuxTi.w. h besought him to depart from them ; for they were taken
with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and
returned back again. 38 Now the man out of whom the
devils were departed besought him that he might be with
him : but & Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 Return to thine
own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto
thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the
whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned,

* literally, the abyss. r render, the precipice.

n omit. B render, And.

* read and render, round about the Gerasenes. U read, he.

Act of many damons having entered into But, as Dr. Wordsworth remarks, we most
this wretched man, sets before ns terribly distinguish between the abyss, the inter-
the utter break np of his personal and mediate place of torment* and the lake of
rational being. The words will not bear fire, into which the devil will be cast by
any figurative rendering, but must be Christ at the end : see Rev. xx. 8, 10.
taken literally (see ver. 2 of this chap., 35.] they went out, viz. the people in the
and ch. xi. 24 ft".) ; viz. that in the same town and country; "the whole city" Mat-
sense in which other poor creatures were thew ; here understood in ver. 34.
possessed by one evil spirit (see note on at the feet of Jesus] This particularity
Matthew), this man, and Mary Magda- denotes an eye-witness. The phrases coin-
lene, were possessed by many. 31. the mon to Mark and Luke, e. g. clothed, and
abyss] This word is sometimes used for in his right mind, and they that saw it,
Hades in general (Bom. x. 7), but more denote a common origin of the two narra-
usually in Scripture for the abode of tives, which have however become con-
damned spirits : see reff. This last is oer- siderably deflected, as comparison will
tainly meant here-— for the request is co- shew, 38, 89.] See notes on Mark,
ordinate with the fear of torment ex- 40 — 56.] Raising op JaIbus's
pressed above (see note on ch. xvi. 28). daughteb, and healiwg of a wovajt

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.81—45.

ST. LUKE.

345

the people [u gladly] received him: for they were all
waiting for him. 41 And, behold, there came a man
named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue : and
he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he
would come into his house : ** for he had one only
daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.
Sut as lie went the people thronged him. ** And a
woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had
spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be
healed of any, **came behind him, and touched the
y border of his garment : and immediately her issue of
blood stanched. tt And Jesus said, Who touched me ?
When all denied, Peter and they that were with him

11 omit : not in the original,

with a» issue of blood. Matt. ix. 1,
18—26. Mark v. 21—18. Our account
is that one of the three which brings out
the most important points, and I have
therefore selected it for roll comment.
40.] received him— i. e. welcomed Him ;
the "gladly " of the A. V. is a correct com-
ment, bnt is more than is in the original
text. for they were all waiting for

him : here we have an eye-witness again.

41.] a ruler of the synagogue:
"one of the rulers of the synagogue,"
Mark ; — in Matthew only " a certain
ruler/' 48.1 one only daughter,

peculiar to Lake, bnt perhaps implied in
the affectionate diminutive of Mark.
lay a dying] In Matthew she is repre-
sented as already dead. He is not aware
of the subsequent message to Jsirus, and
narrates concisely and generally. The

crowd seems to have followed to see what
would happen at Jalrus's house: see ver.
64. 48.] St. Mark adds, that she

grew nothing Defter, but rather worse.

44.] Her inner thoughts are given
in Mark, ver. 28. There was doubt-

less a weakness and error in this woman's
view;— she imagined that healing power
flowed as it were magically out of the
Lord's person j and she touched the fringe
of his garment as the most sacred, as well
as the most accessible part: see Matt,
xxiii. 5: Num. xv. 37—40. But she ob-
tained what she desired. She sought it,
though in error, yet in faith. And she
obtained it, because this faith was known
and recognised by the Lord. It is most
true objectively, that there did go forth
healing power from Him, and from his
Apostles (see Mark vi. 66: Luke vi. 19:
Acts v. 16; xix. 12), but it is also true

y render, hem, as in Matt. ix. 20.

that, in ordinary cases, only those were
receptive of this whose faith embraced the
truth of its existence, and ability to heal
them. The error of her view was over-
borne, and her weakness of apprehension
of truth covered, by the strength of her
faith. And this is a most encouraging
miracle for us to recollect, when we are
disposed to think despondingly of the ig-
norance or superstition of much of the
Christian world: that He who accepted
this woman for her faith even in error and
weakness, may also accept them. 46.]

We are not to imagine that our Lord was
ignorant of the woman, or any of the
circumstances. The question is asked to
draw out what followed. See, on the

part of Jesus Himself, an undeniable in-
stance of this, in ch. xxiv. 19— and note
there. The healing took place by Hie
wiU, and owing to Sis recognition of her
faith: see similar questions, Gen. iii. 9,
and 2 Kings v. 26. Peter and they

that were with him] A detail contained
only here. On the latter part of this

verse many instructive remarks have been
made in sermons — see Trench, Mir., p.
192, note (edn. 2)— to the effect that many
press round Christ, but few touch Him,
only the faithful. Thus Augustine, " Even
thus is it now with His body, i. e. His
Church. She is touched by the mith of
few, though crowded by the mob of the
many." And Chrysostom, "The believer
on the Saviour toucheth Him, but the un-
believer throngeth and vexeth Him/' It
is difficult to imagine how the miracle
should be, as Dr. Wordsworth calls it, "a
solemn warning to all who crowd on
Christ:" or how such a forbidding to
come to Him should be reconciled with

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346

ST. LUKE.

VHL 46—56.

said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee,
[w and say est thou, Who touched me ?] *• And Jesus said,
Somebody [* hath] touched me : for I perceive that
iutlii. y i virtue [B gone otlt of me. *7 And when the woman saw
that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling
down before him, she declared [* unto him] before all the
people for what cause she [» had'] touched him,' and how
she was healed immediately. ** And he said unto her,
Daughter, [» be of good comfort :] thy faith hath made
thee whole ; go in peace. *• While he yet spake, there
cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue [**'* house],
saying to him, Thy daughter is dead ; trouble not the

w omitted in some of our most ancient MSS. : perhaps inserted from Mark v. 80.
x omit. 7 render, power. * omit.

* omitted by many ancient authorities. It was probably inserted from Matt. ix. 22.
** not in original.

« Come unto Me all.. ." Bather should
we say, seeing it was one of those that
thus crowded on Him who obtained grace
from Him, that it is a blessed encourage-
ment to us not only to crowd on Him,
but eren to touch Him: so to crowd on
Him as never to be content till we have
grasped if it be but His garment for our-
selves: not to despise or discourage any
of the least of those who "make familiar
addresses to Him in (so called) religious
hymns," seeing that thus some of them
may touch Him to the healing of their
souls. I much fear that if my excellent
friend had been keeping order among the
multitude on the way to the house of
Jalrus, this poor woman would never have
been allowed to get near to Jesus. But I
hope and trust that he and I shall rejoice
together one day in His presence amidst a
greater crowd, whom no man can number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues. 47.] It is not necessary

(though perhaps probable), from the whan
•11 denied, ver. 46, that the woman should
also have denied with them. She may
have hidden herself among the crowd.
Our Lord (Mark, ver. 32) looked around to
see "her that had done this thing,"—*
wonderful precision of expression, by which
His absolute knowledge of the whole
matter is set before us. trembling:

and more, "knowing what was done to
her'* Mark; which is implied here. All
this is omitted in Matthew ; and if we had
only his account, we should certainly de-
rive the wrong lesson from the miracle;
for there we miss altogether the reproof,
and the shame to which the woman is put;

and the words of our Lord look like an
encomium on her act itself. Her confes-
sion before all the people, is very striking
here, as showing us that Christ will have
Himself openly confessed, and not only
secretly sought : that our Christian life is
not, as it is sometimes called, merely 'a
thing between onrseUee and God;' but a
good confession, to be witnessed before alL

48.1 How lovingly does our Lord
re-assure the trembling woman ; her faith
saved her— not merely in the act of
touching, but as now completed by the act
of confession ;— it saved her mediately, as
the connecting link between herself and
Christ: but the "power which went omt
from Him," working through that faith,
saved her energetically, and as the work-
ing cause; — "by grace, through faith,*9
Epb. ii. 8. in peace] See oh. viL 60

and note. St Mark's addition, "be

whole of thy plague,'* is important, as
conveying to her an assurance that the
effect which she felt in her body should be
permanent; that the healing, about which
she might otherwise almost have doubted,
as being surreptitiously obtained, was now
openly ratified by the Lord's own word.

40.1 Little marks of accuracy come
out in each of the two fuller accounts.
Here we have there cometh one, which
was doubtless the exact fact: — m Mark
"there came certain," — generally ex-
pressed. In Mark again we learn not only
that Jesus heard, but that the message
was not reported to Him, but He over*
heard it being said, which is a minute
detail not given here. Nothing could
more satisfactorily mark the independent

Digitized by VjOOQIC

IX. 1—5. ST. LUKE. 847

Master. w But when Jesus heard it, he answered him,

saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made

whole. 61 And when he came into the house, he suffered

no man to ^go in, save Peter, and • James and • John, and

the father and the mother of the maiden. 62 And all

wept, and bewailed her : but he said, Weep not : * she is

not dead, kbut sleepeth. 63 And they laughed him to * Johnxi.n.

scorn, knowing that she was dead. w And he [*d put them

all out, and] took her by the hand, and called, saying,

Maid, 1 arise. 66 And her spirit came again, and she arose ^^jy4

straightway : and he commanded to give her • meat.

66 And her parents were astonished: but he m charged m4^SL

them that they should tell no man what was done. m«*t.«.

IX. l Then he called •* his twelve disciples together, and
gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure
diseases. 2 And *he sent them to preach the kingdom of ft0h.i.i,».
God, and to heal [' the siek~\ . 8 * And he said unto them, * *$•£
Take nothing for your journey, neither % staves, nor scrip,
neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats
apiece. 4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there
abide, and thence depart. B And whosoever will not
receive you, when ye go out of that city, c shake off the •**■ «*"•««

b read, go in with him. ° ready John, and James. d read, for she.
M omit. e render, to eat. •• read, the Twelve. ' omit. S read, staff.

authority of the two narratives. 50.] that no inference adverse to her actual

and ihe shall be made whole is only here, death can be derived from the use of the

61.] Our Lord had entered the word. The command to give her to eat,

house, where He found " a tumult, and shews that she was restored to actual life

them that wept and wailed greatly? with its wants and weaknesses \ and in

Mark : " the minetrele and people making that incipient state of convalescence, which

a noiee," Matthew, who were all following would require nourishment. The testi-

Him into the chamber of death. On this mony of Mark here precludes all idea of a

Me declared who were to follow Sim, and recovery from a mere paroxysm — " and she

uttered the words "Give place" Ac., Mat- walked." One who "lay at the point of

thew. — Then He entered with His three death" at the time of the father's coming,

Apostles and the parents. I say this, not and then died, so that it could be said of

for the sake of harmonizing, but to bring the minstrels and others who had time to

out the sequence in our narrative here, assemble," knowing that ehe woe dead,"—

which unless we get the right meaning for could not, supposing that they were mis-

■ufinred no man to go in, seems disturbed, taken and she was only in a trance, have

5S.] The maiden was actually dead, risen up and walked, and been in a sitna-

as plainly appears from the knowing that tion to take meat, in so short a time after.

she wis dead. The words, she is not dead Every part of the narrative combines to

but sleepeth, are no ground for surmising declare that the death was real, and the

the contrary: see note on Matthew, ver. miracle n'raieimg from the dead, in the

24. 54] Mark gives the actual Ara- strictest sense. 66.1 The injunction,

maic words uttered by the Lord, " Talitha however, was not observed ; for we read in

cumi." 56.] her spirit came again i Matthew, " the fame hereof went abroad

see Judges xv. 19, 1 Kings xviL 21, in the into all that land."

former of which places death had not Chap. IX. 1—5.] Mission of thb

taken place, but in the latter it had; so Twelvb. Matt. x. 5—12. Mark vi. 7—

Digitized by VjOOQIC

348

ST. LUKE.

rx.

dch.XxUl.ft.

[* very] dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preach-
ing the gospel, and healing every where.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done
[i by him] : and he was perplexed, because that it was
said J of some, that John was risen from the dead ; 8 and
J of some, that Elias had appeared; and J of others, that
one of the old prophets was risen again. 9 And Herod
said, John [* have] I beheaded : but who is this, of whom
I hear such things ? And he desired to see him.

io* And the apostles, when they were returned, told
him all that they had done. And he took them, and went
aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city-
called Bethsaida. n And the people, when they knew it,
followed him : and he received them, and spake unto them
of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of
healing. 12 And p when] the day began to wear away ;

*omit.
i i. e. by.

18. Mark's account agrees nearly exactly
with the text. The discourse is given at
mnch greater length in Matthew, where see
notes. 7— 9.J Herod Axtipaa hbajm

OP THE VAXB OF JBBUB THROUGH THS
DOINGS OF THR TWRLVR. Matt. xiv. 1

—12. Mark vi. 14—29. How inexpli-
cable would be the omission of the death of
John the Baptist, by the Evangelist who
has given so particular an account of his
ministry, (ch. ul. 1-20), if St. Luke had had
before him the narratives of St. Matthew
and St. Mark. 7.] « by him," though not
genuine, and an explanatory gloss, points
to the right account of the matter. Herod
(see Mark) heard the account of the mira-
cles wrought by the Twelve; but even
then it was HIS name which was spread
abroad. These works were done in their
Master's Name, and in popular rumour
pasted for Hie. 9.] The repetition

of " I " (which is emphatic in the original)
implies personal concern and alarm at the
growingfameof Jesus : see notes onMatthew.
10 — 17.] Rrturk of thr Apostles.

JXBTTS RRTIRRB TO BrTHBAIDA. FRRD-
IKG OF THR FTTH THOUSAND. Matt.

xiv. 13-21. Mark vi. 80—44. John vi.
1— 13. Compare the notes on each of
these. 10.] He went in a ship (Mat-

thew, Mark, John), of which our Evan-
gelist seems not to have been informed ; for
we should gather from our text that it
was by land. A great difficulty also at-
tends the mention of Bethsaida here. At

* omitted by the most ancient authorities.

* omit. * omit.

first sight, it would appear to be the well-
known Bethsaida, on the western bank of
the lake, not far from Capernaum. But
(1) our Lord was on this side before,— tee
ch. viii. 87 ; and (2) Mark (vi. 45) re-
lates that after the miracle of the loaves
He caused His disciples to cross over to
Bethsaida. But there were two places of
this name :— another Bethsaida (Julias) lay
at the top of the lake, on the Jordan : see
Stanley, p. 881, edn. 8. Now it is very
likely that our Lord may have crossed the
lake to this Bethsaida, and St. Luke, find-
ing that the miracle happened near Beth-
saida, and not being informed of the crossing
of the lake, may have left the name thus
without explanation, as being that of the
other Bethsaida. St. Mark gives us the
exact account : that the Lord and the dis-
ciples, who went by sea, were perceived by
the multitude who went by land, and arrived
before Him. How any of these accounts
could have been compiled with a know-
ledge of the others, I cannot imagine.

1L] See note on Mark, ver. 34.

he received them] This word in-
cludes what St. Mark tells us of His going
forth from His solitude, or perhaps landing
from the ship, and seeing a great multi-
tude, and having compassion on them ; he
received them, i. e. did not send them
away. 12.] As the Three agree in their
account, and St. John differs from them,
see the difference discussed in notes there.
In his account, the enquiry prooeedsJVoa*

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6—22. ST. LUKE. 349

then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multi-
tude away, that they may go into the towns and country
round about, and lodge, and get victuals : for we are here
in a desert place. 1S But he said unto them, Give ye them
to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves
and two fishes ; except we should mgo and buy meat for all
this people. 14 For they were about five thousand men.
And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down *by
fifties in a company. 15 And they did so, and made them
all sit down. 16 Then he took the five loaves and the two
fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and
brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multi-
tude. 17 And they did eat, and were all filled : and there
was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve
baskets.

18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his
disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying,
Whom say the people that I am ? 19 They answering
said, • John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others •*«• 7. a.
say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 8° He
said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? f Peter f John vl».
answering said, The Christ of God. 21 And he straitly
charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that
thing; 22 saying, The Son of man must suffer many

m render, ourselves go.

n render, by companies of about fifty.

our lard Himself, and is addressed to It is also an important observation, that

Philip, and answered by Philip and Andrew, the omission by St. Lake of the second

14. by companies or about fifty] miracle of feeding is not to be adduced

St. Mark gives " by hundreds and by against its historical reality, as some have

fifties " with his usual precision. done, since it is only omitted as occurring

Besides these companies, there were the inthemidst of a large section, which the ac-

women and children unarranged ; see on counts gathered by St. Luke did not contain*

John vi. 10. 16.] On the symbolic 18—87.] Confession or Peteb.

import of the miracle, see notes on John Fibst announcement of the Passion

vi. Immediately after this miracle, and Rbsubbbotion. Matt. xvi. 13—28.

St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. John re- Mark viii. 27— ix. 1. The Lord had gone

late the walking on the sea, which, and into the neighbourhood of Caesarea Phi-

the whole series of events following as far lippi ;-r-see notes on Matthew. 19.

as Matt. xvi. 12,— the healings in the land that one of the old prophets is risen

of Gennesaret,— the discourse about un- again] See ver. 8. There is no improba-

washen hands, — the Syrophoenician woman, bOity, nor contradiction to St. John's ac-

— the healing of multitudes by the sea of count that the multitudes sought to make

Galilee,— the feeding of the 4000,— the him a king, in our Lord's asking this

asking of a sign from Heaven,— and the question. We must remember that such

forgetting to take bread,— are wholly enquiries were not made by Him for in-

omtfted by our Evangelist. Supposing him formation, but as a means of drawing out

to have had St. Matthew's gospel before the confession of others, as here,

him, how is this to be explained? 20.] See the important addition, the pro*

Digitized by VjOOQIC

350 ST. LUKE. IX.

things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

9 S^it!" w g And he said to them all, If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow me. ** For whosoever will save his life shall lose
it : bat whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same
shall save it. 2B For what is a man advantaged, if he gain
the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

h5Stojd?ii. *• h For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my
words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of
the holy angels. *7 Bat I tell yoa of a truth, there be
0 some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till
they see the kingdom of God. ** And it came to pass
about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and
John and James, and went up into P a mountain to pray.
89 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was
altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. 3° And,
behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses
and Elias : 81 who appeared in glory, and spake of his
decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. s* 4 But

l^jTULlfl Peter and they that were with him ! were heavy with sleep :
* and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the

0 render, some of those that stand here. P render, the.
4 render (for the take of what follow*) , Now.

r render, but having kept awake.

mise to Peter, in Matthew, w. 17—19. brightness.' Meyer. 87.] See note
88.] As far as slain is nearly verbatim on Matthew, ver. 28.
with Mark : the last clanse nearly so with 8S — 86.] The Tbaxbthhtbatiok.
Matthew. And yet, according to the Matt. xvii. 1—8. Mark ix. 2—8. I have
Commentators, St. Mark has compiled hit commented on the relation of the three
account from St. Matthew and St. Luke, accounts in the notes on Mark, and on the
The almost verbal agreement of the three Transfiguration itself in those on Mat-
in so solemn and sad an announcement, is thew, which treat also of the additional
what we might expect. Snch words would particulars found here. 88.1 about
not be, easily forgotten. 88.] to them an eight days is " after eix days'9 in Mat-
uVL— "having caued the multitude with thew and Mark, the one reckoning being
Hie disciples" Mark. There is no allusion exclusive, the other inclusive. to pray]
to what He had said to Peter in this all. See on ch. v. 16. This Gospel alone gives
85.] himself is " hit Ufe " in Matthew, us the purpose of the Lord in going up,
Mark :— his life, in the highest sense, and His employment when the glorious
86.] After words St. Mark adds change came over Him. 81.1 This
"mi this adulterant and sinful genera- decease is expressed in the original by the
Hon." « The Glory is threefold : (l) His word exodus, going forth, which could be
own, which He has to and for Himself as no other than His death, which he
the exalted Messiah : (2) the glory of should accomplish, literally, fulfil,— by
Ood, which accompanies Him as coming divine appointment. 88.] Not 'when
down from God's Throne : (3) the glory of they were awake,' as A. V., which is not
the angels, who surround Htm with their the sense of the word,— but having kept

Digitized by VjOOQIC

28—48. ST, LUKE. 851

two men that stood with him. M And it came to pass, as
they ■ departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master,
it is good for us to be here : and let us make three taber-
nacles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias :
not knowing what he said. ** While he thus spake, there
came a cloud, and overshadowed them : and they; feared as
they entered into the cloud. 3* And there came a voice
out of the cloud, saying, kThis is my lt beloved Son : J *■ g^fc
mhear him. 36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was }£ **<£* "L

M 1 Pat til

found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in m\rtiifl#ij/
those days any of those things which they had seen.

s7 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they
were come down from the » hill, v much people met him.
88 And, behold, a man of the w company cried out, saying,
Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son : for he is mine
only child. 89 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he sud-
denly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth
again, and bruising him * hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to cast 7 him out ; and
they could not. 41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless
and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you,
and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. 4S And as he was
yet a coming, "the devil threw him down, and tare him.
And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the
child, and delivered him again to his father. ** And they
8 render, were departing. * read, chosen.

n render, at above, ver. 28, mountain.

v literally, a great multitude. w render, multitude.

x i. e. with difficulty. 7 render, it, at in the last terse,

1 i.e. the daemon, or evil spirit, ver. 39.

awake through the whole. The word Ps. lxzxix. 8. 19 : In. xliii. 10 (cited in
teems to be expressly used here to shew Matt, zii 18). 86.] St. Lake gives
that it was not merely a vision, seen in the result of our Lord's command to
sleep. 88.] aa they departed, i. e. them : the command itself is related in
while they were departing :— the words Matthew ver. 9, and Mark ver. 9.
were said with a desire to hinder their 87—42.1 HiALixa o* a possessed
departure. not knowing want he pbbsov. Matt. xvii. 14—21. Mark ix.
•aid— from fear and astonishment— "for 14—29. The narrative in Mark is by rar
they were sore afraid," Mark. 84.] the most copious, and I have there corn-
There is no difference in the accounts, as mented at length on it. 87. the
has been imagined : the aa they departed next day] The transfiguration probably
. . . , ver. 88, is only an additional par- took place at night,— we* on Matt. xvii. 1,
ticular, and the rest is exactly in accord- — and this was in the morning. St. Luke
ance. Notice however the remarkable omits the whole discourse concerning Elias
word chosen of the correct text : and (Matthew and Mark, w. 9—18). 88.]
compare the references,— in which places he is mine only child is peculiar to Luke.
only in the New Testament the term is 48 — 45.] Oitb Lobd'b second an-
eppUed to the Son of God. Compare also kouvcemskt op His death. Matt xvii.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

352

ST. LUKE,

IX.

neh.lt.Mt
ZT1U.H.

were all amazed at the » mighty power of God. But while
they wondered every one at all things which * Jesus did,
he said unto hi* disciples, ** Let these sayings sink down
into yonr ears : for the Son of man ° shall be delivered into
the hands of men. tt * But they understood not this say-
ing, and it was hid from them, * that they perceived it not :
and they feared to ask him of that saying.

44 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of
them should be greatest. W And Jesus, perceiving the

• thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
• Matt.*.**. 48 ^hI gaid unt0 them. ° Whosoever shall receive this child

John xll. 44: '

xllLI°- in my name receiveth me : and whosoever shall receive me
receiveth him that sent me ; p for he that is least among*
you all, the same ' shall be great. *° q And John answered
and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy
name; and we eT forbad him, because he followeth not

• render, majesty. D read, he. • render, is about to be.
d render, that they might not perceive it.

• render, reasoning : it is the tame word as in the Uut verse.
' read, is. ff literally, hindered him.

pMattxxliL

11.11

q Sec Num. si.
A.

22, 23. Mark ii. 80—82. 48, 44.] all

—the multitude— in contrast with " your
ears " of ver. 44. these sayings, not,

as some, 'the foregoing discourses and
wonders :*— that would give no sense, — for
the disciples were thinking exclusively of
those already : nor strictly ' what I am
about to tell you,9 so that these sayings
should be identical in meaning with " this
saying " below, ver. 46 : but these sayings,
of which this was now the second ; — * these
intimations which I make to you from
time to time respecting My sufferings and
death/ The Resurrection, expressly men-
tioned in the others, is omitted here.
45.] The sense here is not to be evaded by
forcing it, as A. V., to mean ' so that the*
did not . • . . , but to be literally rendered,
that they might not, as in Matt. i. 22 al. It
was the divine purpose, that they should
not at present be aware of the full signifi-
cancy of these words.

46—60.] Jesus bbbukbs the disci-
ples FOB THBIB EMULATION AND BX-
CLUSiTBirBSS. Matt, xviii. 1—5. Markix.
88—40. The most detailed account is in
Mark, where I have discussed the differ-
ences in the three narratives. 46.]
There is not the least occasion to confine
the word reasoning to the sense of an in-
ward doubt and questioning in the heart
of each ; indeed I will venture to say that
no interpreter would have thought of

doing so, had not the narratives of St.
Matthew and St. Mark, by mentioning an
outward expression of this thought, offered
a temptation to discover a discrepancy.
Had our narrative stood by itself, we
should have understood it, as I do now, of
a dispute which had taken place or was
taking place, and which, though not
actually spoken out before the Lord, was
yet open to His discerning eye, so that not
only the words, but the disputing of their
thoughts, was known to Him. 48.]

The discourse as here related has the
closest connexion and harmony. The dis-
pute had been, who (among the Twelve)
should be greatest, — i. e. greatest in the
kingdom of heaven : for other greatness is
not to be thought of, — the minds of the
disciples being always on this, as just
about to appear; and our Lord reminds
them, that no such precedence is to be
thought of among those sent in His name ;
for that even a little child, if thus Bent, is
clothed with His dignity ; and if there be
any distinction among such, it is this, that
he who is like that child, humblest and
least, i. e. nearest to the spirit of his Lord,
he is the greatest. 49, 60.] On the

connexion of this answer with the pre-
ceding, see on Mark. It is even more
strikingly brought out here. Our Lord
had declared the absolute equality of all
sent in His name-— and that if there were

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41—51. .

ST. LUKE.

353

■ee Mitt. zil.
80. ch. xl. 21

with us. 50 And Jesus said unto him, h Forbid him not :
for r he that is not against * us is for * us.

51 And it came to pass, ** when the time was come that he
should be received up, J he stedfastly set his face to go to

k literally, Hinder. * read, JOU.

11 render, as the days of his receiving up were being accomplished,
i render, he himself.

any difference^ it was to be made by a
deeper self -renouncing. Then arises the
thought in the mind of the ardent son of
Zebedee, of the exclusive and peculiar
dignity of those who were thus sent, the
apostles; and he relates what they had
done, as a proof of his fully appreciating
this exclusive dignity. The link to what
has preceded, is in the words in thy name
. . . See the rest in Mark.

51.— Chap. XIX. 28.] Incidents DUR-
ING THE LOBD'S LAST JOUBNET TO JeEU-

balem. We now enter upon a lone- and
most important portion of our Gospel, pe-
culiar in this form, and most of it entirely
peculiar to St. Luke. At ch. xviii. 15 he
again joins the narrative of St. Matthew
and St. Mark, within a few verses of where
he parted from them. Respecting this

portion, I will observe, without entangling
myself in the harmonistic maze into which
most of the interpreters have ventured, (1)
that the whole of it is to be understood
here as belonging to our Lord's last
journey from Galilee to Jerusalem; see
below on ver. 51. (2) that evidently that
journey was not a direct one (see ch. x. 1 ;
xiii. 22, 31 ; xvii. 11 ; xviii. 31, and notes),
either in time, or in the road chosen,
(3) that in each of the two other Gospels
there is a journey placed at this very time,
described Matt. xix. 1, " JSe departed from
Galilee, and came into the borders of
Judcea beyond Jordan, and Mark x. 1,
" He arose from thence, and cometh into the
borders of Judaa by the farther side of
Jordan" — which, in their narrative also,
is the last journey from Galilee to Jeru-
salem. (4) that in John x. 22, we find our
Lord at Jerusalem, at the feast of Dedi-
cation, in the winter (about the end of
December), without however any hint as to
how or whence He came there. (5) that
the whole time between that feast and
His Passion is spent thus :— After the
attempt to stone Him, John x. 31, He re-
tired to Bethany beyond Jordan (see John
i. 28, corrected text); was summoned
thence by the message from Martha and
Mary to Bethany near Jerusalem, where
He raised Lazarus; — again retired to
Ephraim, somewhere beyond Jericho, on
Vol. I.

the borders of the desert ; — six days before
the passover came to Bethany, and the
anointing took place, Ac. ; this whole time
being three months and a few days. (6) I
believe then that we have obtained a fixed
critical point in all the four Gospels for
the last journey from Galilee, after which
He never returned (in the flesh) thither
again. And this last journey was to the
feast of Dedication, or at all events brought
Him in time for that feast (for it does
not look like a journey specially to a feast)
at Jerusalem. It was between the feast
of tabernacles in John vii. 2, to which He
went up privately (ib. ver. 10), and the
occasion when we find Him in Solomon's
porch, John x. 22. (7) The three first
Evangelists relate nothing of the being in
Jerusalem at the feast of dedication, or
indeed at aU, except at the last passover.
We therefore find in them nothing of the
retirements to Bethany (beyond Jordan)
and Ephraim; but the removal of our
Lord from Galilee to the confines of
Judsea through the parts beyond 'Jordan
is described as uninterrupted. (8) We
are now I believe in a situation to appre-
ciate the view with which our Evangelist
inserts this portion. He takes this journey,
beginning its narrative at the very same
place where the others do, as comprehend-
ing—as indeed in strict historical fact it
did— the last solemn farewell to Galilee
(ch. x. 13 — 15), the final resolve of our
Lord to go up to Jerusalem (ix. 51), and,
— which in its wider sense it did,— all
the records which he possessed of miracles
and discourses between this time and the
triumphal entry. (9) As to arranging or
harmonizing the separate incidents con-
tained in this portion, as the Evangelist
himself has completely by his connecting
words in many places disclaimed it (see
ch. ix. 57; x. 1, 25, 88; xi. }, 14; xii. 1 ;
xiii. 1, 10, 22 ; xiv. 1, 25 ; xv. 1 ; xvii. 1,
5, 11, 20; xviii. 1, 9), — I do not suppose
that we, at this distance of time, shall
succeed in doing so. The separate diffi-
culties will be treated of as they occur.
61.] The verb is not past, as A. V.
—not, when the time (days) was come
(accomplished), but si the days were
A a

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854

ST. LUKE.

IX. 52— 6£.

Jerusalem, 5* and sent messengers before his face : and
they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans^ to

■ John ir. 4.«. make ready for him. w And *they did not receive him,
because his face was *as though he would go to Jeru-
salem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw
this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to
come down from heaven, and consume them [, * even as

tin** lis, * Elias did] ? 65 But he turned, and rebuked them[, m and
said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

« John m. ir. M ]?or n the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives,
but to save them]. And they went to another village.

k literally, going. 1 omitted by some ancient authorities.

m omitted by moet of our oldest MSS., but contained in the most ancient versions,
and quoted by some very ancient writers. See note.

being accomplished: i. e. approaching their
accomplishment. hi* receiving up

can have bat one meaning ; see Mark xvi.
19 : Acts t 2; ii. 22 : 1 Tim. Hi. 16 : in all
which places the verb belonging to this
substantive is used in the original: hit
assumption, i. e. ascension into heaven.
He himself resumes the subject, not
without some emphasis implying his own
voluntary action. set hie nee is a

Hebrew way of speaking, implying deter-
minate fixed purpose; see Isa. 1. 7, the
sense of which, as prophetic of the Messiah
going to his sufferings, seems to be referred
to in this expression. 5&.] messengers,
who have been assumed without reason to
have been James and John. Sama-

ritans] On the enmity of the Jews and
Samaritans, see note, John iv. 9. The
publicity now courted by our Lord isv in
remarkable contrast to His former avoid-
ance of notice, and is a feature of the close
of His ministry, giving rise to the accu-
sation of ch. xxiii. 6. to make ready
for him most mean something more, surely,
than to provide board and lodging; there
is a solemnity about the sentence which
forbids that supposition. It must have
been to announce the coming of Jesus as
the Messiah, which He did not conceal in
Samaria as in Judsaa and Galilee, see
John iv. 26 ; and the refusal of the Sama-
ritans must have been grounded on the
jealousy excited by the preference shewn
for the Jewish rites and metropolis. They
expected that the Messiah would have
confirmed their anti-Jewish rites and
Gerizim temple, instead of going up so-
lemnly to Jerusalem, and thereby con-
demning them. 54-] The disciples
whom He named 'sons of thunder/ Mark
iii. 17. They saw some insult of manner,

or actual refusal to allow the Lord to
enter their village. That a collision of
this kind did take place, is plain from the
last verse, and implied from the occasion
alluded to by the two Apostles, where
the fife was invoked in the presence of
the offending persons. It happened also
in Samaria. fire, not lightning, but

fire, as in the passage alluded to, and in
1 Kings xviii. 88. It is exceedingly

difficult (see margin) to determine the true
reading in this passage, which seems to
have been more than usually tampered
with, or wrongly written. In this great
uncertainty, 1 have thought the candid
way is to let my edited text reflect such
uncertainty, and I have therefore printed
these latter debateable words in the same
tvpe as the text, and have annotated on
them. 55.] Te know not what manner
ef spirit ye are of] Besides the mistaken
ways of explaining these words of our Lord
(e. g. 'Do you not see what a [bad] spirit
you are shewing?*) there are two senses
which they may bear. (1) Affirmative, as in
A. V., — "Ye think ye are influenced by the
same spirit as once influenced Elias • . . but
ye are in error. Te have indeed a seal for
God, but not according to knowledge;
the offspring of human partiality, not of
divine inspiration," Grotius ; or (2) inter-
rogative— ' Know ye not what manner of
spirit ye belong to (are of)V the spirit
meant being the Holy Spirit. ' The Spirit
in Elias was a fiery and judicial spirit, as
befitted the times and the character of
God's dealings tlien ; but the Spirit in Me
and mine is of a different kind — a spirit of
love and forgiveness.' The latter of

these is perhaps better suited to the con-
text ; but the former is more according to
the usage of the expression Te knew (not)

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X. 1.

ST. LUKE.

855

67 T And [*it came to pass, that,] as they went in the **■**• »iu.i».
way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee
whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him,
0 Foxes have holes, and P birds of the air have nests ; but
the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 69 w And wiutt.Tiii.ii
he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord,
suffer me first to go and bury my father. *> Jesus said
unto him, 4 Let the dead bury their dead : but go thou and
preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said,
Lord, x I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them^jgi^mf*
farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus
said [VLunto Aim], No man, having put his hand T to the
plough, and looking back, is *JU for the kingdom of
God.

X. l Alter these things the Lord appointed * other seventy

0 render. The foxes.

* render, Leave the dead to bury.

r render, on.

* render, others also, seventy in number.

it connects this incident with the sending
out of the Seventy, which follows imme-
diately afterwards? 61, 62.] Peculiar
to Lake. The answer of our Eord again
seems to refer to the sending out into the
harvest (ch. x. 2), for which the present
Seventy were as it were the ploughmen,
first breaking up the ground. The Baying
itself is to be explained simply from agri-
cultural operations — for he who has his
hand on the plough, guiding it, must look
on the furrow which his share is making —
if he look behind, his work will be marred,
serviceable, not 'fit,9 but welt
adapted, 'the right sort of workman/
The sense is more immediately applicable
to the ministry of the Gospel of Christ,
which will least of all things bear a divided
service and backward looks, — but of course ,
affect* also every private Christian, in-
asmuch as he too has a work to do,—
ground to break, and a harvest to reap.

Chap. X. 1—16.] Mission of the
8btxittt. It is well that St. Luke has
given us also the sending of the Twelve :—
or we should have had some of the Com-
mentators asserting that this was the
tame mission. The discourse addressed to
the Seventy is in substance the same as
that to the Twelve, as the similarity of
their errand would lead us to suppose it
would be. But there is this weighty
difference. The discourse in Matt. x. in
its three great divisions (see notes there),
speaks plainly of an office founded, and a
2

n omit.

P render, the birds.

M omit.

■ rather perhaps, serviceable.

in the gospels : see note in my Greek Tes-
tament. I have therefore punctuated ac-
cording to the former sense : which, indeed,
seems more naturally followed by the for
of the clause following. It is very

interesting to remember that this same
John came down to Samaria (Acts viii. 14
— 17) with Peter, to confer the gift of the
Holy Spirit on the Samaritan believers.

57—62.] St. Matthew (viii. 19—22) re-
lates the contents of w. 67 — 00, but at a
totally different period of our Lord's mi-
nistry, viz. His crossing the lake to go to
Gerasa. It is quite impossible to decide
which Evangelist has placed the incidents
in their proper chronological place. When
we once begin to speculate on such things,
it is easy to find a fitness, on whichever
-side of the argument we range ourselves.
Only (see notes on Matthew) we must not
adopt the wretched subterfuge of the har-
monists, and maintain that the two events
took place twice, each time consecutively,
and each time with the same reply from
our Lord. 57, 58.] See notes on

Matthew. 59. Follow me] This com-

mand is implied in Matthew, where the
reply is, as here, "Lord, suffer me first *\ . .
which words could hardly be spoken with-
out a reference in the "first" to it.
60.] go thou and preach (literally, dis-
seminate, go about announcing) the king-
dom of God is peculiar to Luke, and shews
the independence of his source of informa-
tion. Am I wrong in supposing also, that

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356

ST. LUKE.

MarkTl.7-

bMatt.ix.87,
S8. John It.
85.

c S Thett. UL1.

d Matt. x. If.

• Matt. x. 0.10.

Markvi.S.

eh. Ix. 8.
fiKlngtiT.lO.

f Matt. x. IS.

h Matt. x. 11.

1 1 Cor. x. 17.
k Matt. x. 10.

lCor.ix.4.

&e. 1 Tim.

T.18.

mMatt.lii.li
It. 17: x. 7.
ver. 11.

n Matt. x. 14.
ch.lx.*.
AoUxIH.Sl
xvilLO.

also, and 'sent them two and two before his face into
every .city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 bu Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is
great, but the labourers are few : c pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers
into his harvest. s Go your ways : d behold, I send you
forth as lambs among wolves. 4 e Carry neither purse,
nor scrip, nor shoes: and f salute no man by the way.
5 * And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be
to this house. 6 And if the son of peace be there, your
peace shall rest upon it : if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 h And v in the same house remain, l eating and drinking
such things as they give : for the k labourer is worthy of
his hire. Go not from house to house. 8 And into what-
soever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things
as are set before you : 9 l and heal the sick that are therein,
and say unto them, m The kingdom of God is come nigh
unto you. 10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the
same, and say, n n Even the very dust of your city, which

v render, in the house itself.

first is more probable, from the similarity
of the discourses. The number of

seventy might perhaps have reference to
the seventy elders of Israel, Exod. xxiv. 1 ;
Numb. xi. 16 : — all sorts of fanciful analo-
gies have been found out and insisted on
(and moreover forced into the text), which
are not worth recounting. 2.1 See

Matt. ix. 37 and notes. S, 4. J The

time was now one of greater danger than
at the mission of the Twelve; therefore
ver. 8 is bound immediately up with their
present sending, whereas in Matt. x. 16 it
regards a time yet distant in the future;
also one requiring greater haste, — which
accounts for the addition, salute no man
by the way. These reasons also account
for merely the healing the sick being en-
joined, ver. 9. 6.] the ton of pesos:
i.e. persons receptive of your message of
peace;— see reff. 7—18.] 8ee on Matt,
x. 11 — 15. The particular directions here
are different. 7.] in the (that) house
itself (see ver. 5, where it was last spoken
o£ the inhabitants having been since men-
tioned) remain. Beware of rendering it
in the same house, as A. V., which the ori-
ginal will not admit. 9.] The Mliy|ff«n
of God is corns nigh unto yon is a later an-
nouncement than generally, " the kingdom

u read, And he said.

ministry appointed, which was to involve
a work, and embrace consequences, co-
extensive, both in space and duration, with
the world. Here we have no such prospec-
tive view unfolded. The whole discourse
is confined to the first division there (vv.
1 — 15), and relates entirely to present
duties. Their sending out was not to

prove and strengthen their own faith, —
but to prepare the way for this solemn
journey of the Lord, the object of which
was the announcement of the near approach
of the kingdom of God, — and the termina-
tion of it, the last events at Jerusalem.
Their mission being thus temporary, and
expiring with their return, it is not to be
wondered at that we hear nothing of them
in the Acts. This last is surely an absurd
objection to bring against the historic
truth of their mission, seeing that the
Acts are written by this same Evangelist,
and the omission is therefore an argument
for, and not against, that truth.
The words should not be rendered, as in
A. V., 'other seventy also,' but as in
margin, others also, seventy in number,
see ch. xxiii. 82. The others may refer,
either to the Twelve, ch. ix. 1, or perhaps,
from the similarity of their mission, to the
messengers in ch. ix. 52. But perhaps the

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2—18.

ST. LUKE.

857

w eleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you : notwithstand-
ing be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come
nigh [x unto you] . 12 [x But] I say unto you, that ° it shall
be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that
city. 1S p Woe unto, thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee,
Bethsaida! °for if the mighty works had been done in
Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a
great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at
the judgment, than for you. 15 'And thou, Capernaum,
7 which art • exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
16 * He that heareth you heareth me ; and u he that despiseth
you despiseth me; Tand he that despiseth me despiseth
him that sent me.

*7 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying,
Lord, even the devils are, subject unto us ■ through thy
name. 18 And he said unto them, w I beheld Satan as

w read, eleaveth to us, on our feet. x omit.

7 read, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven ? thou shalt be.
1 render, in.

o Matt. x. IB.
Mark tI. 11.

pMatt.xl.21.
qExek.M.8.

rMatt.xi.SS.

s aae Etek.

xxri.80:

xxxil. 18.
t Matt. x. 40.

Mark lx. 87.

John xiii. SO.
Hi Theaa.hr. 8.
▼ John v. S3.

rJohnxil.Sl:
xvl.ll. Rer.
ix. 1 : xil. 8,
0.

of God is at hand," Matt. x. 7. 18.1 In
these words, which oar Lord had uttered be-
fore (Matt. xi. 21 ff.), He takes His solemn
farewell of the cities where the greatest
number of His miracles had been done,
and discourses uttered: they being awful
examples of that city just described.
16.] See Matt. x. 40 and notes.

17—84.] Return op the Sbteitty.
As in ch. ix. 6—10, St. Luke attaches the
return of the Seventy very closely to their
mission. They probably were not many
days absent. They say nothing of the re-
ception of their message,— or it is not
brought out in the Gospel, as not imme-
diately belonging to the great central
object of narration; they rejoice that more
power seems to be granted to them than
even His words promised, seeing that He
commissioned them only to heal the sick,
not to cast out devils, as He did the
Apostles, ch. ix. 1. That this was a
ground of joy not to be prominently
brought forward, is the purport of our
Lord's answer ; the whole of which as for
as ver. 24 inclusive is in the strictest con-
nexion, and full of most weighty and deep
truth. 17.] The fact that it was in thy
name is perhaps too much lost sight of in the
words unto us here— the disciples rejoice in
their own endowment, and the source of it
is put into the background. 18.] We may

understand these words in two ways : (1)
we may say, that in this brief speech our
Lord sums up by anticipation, as so often
in the discourses in John, the whole great
conflict with and defeat of the power of
evil, from the first, even till accomplished
by His own victory. The words, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven, refer
to the original fall of Satan, when he lost
his place as an angel of light, not keeping
his first estate; which fill however had
been proceeding ever since step by step,
and shall do so, till all things be put under
the feet of Jesus, who was made lower
than the angels. And this I beheld be-
longs to the period before the foundation
of the world when He abode in the bosom
of the Father. He is to be (see ver. 22}
the great Victor over the Adversary, ana
this victory began when Satan fell from
heaven. At the same time it may be
doubted whether it is not (2) grammati-
cally more correct, to -refer the imperfect
tense, I beheld, was beholding, to the
time just past, — to the Lord's prophetic
sight at the time of the ministering of
the Seventy. If this view be correct, the
words do not refer to any " triumph just
gained," but to the Lord's glorious anti-
cipations of final triumph, felt during the
exercise of power by His servants,
as lightning] Not the suddenness only

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358

ST. LUKE.

x A&SkuL ' lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, x I *give unto you

*• power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the

power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means

hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the

spirits are subject unto you ; but [b rather] rejoice, because

» Slw1** 7 7out rams8 are written in heaven. 21 * In that hour • Jesus

*: wK:f"' rejoiced in **pirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord

m^mct. iiii. of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from

the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes :

a read, have given. D omit, with nearly all the authorities.

* many ancient authorities have, he rejoiced.

* read, with all the most ancient authorities, the holy spirit.

Mi. 17.

■ Matt. xi. tt.

of the fell, but the brightness of the
fallen Ansel is thus set forth. The de-
scription is not figurative, but literal;
i. e. as far as divine words can be said to
be literal, being accommodated to our sen-
suous conceptions. See on this verse, Isa.
ziv. 9 — 15, to which the words have a
reference; and Rev. xii. 7—12.
19.1 Our Lord here, — including all the
evil and poison in nature in the power of
the enemy, — from the power given Him
over that enemy, asserts the rift to them,
extended afterwards to all believers (Mark
xvi. 18), of authority to * bruise the head of
the serpent ' (Gen. Hi. 15). There is an evi-
dent allusion to Ps. xci. 13. 20.] The
connexion is — < seeing that the power which
I grant to you is so large, arising from my
victory over the enemy,— make not one
particular department of it your cause of
joy, nor indeed the mere subjection of evil
to you at all — but this,— the positive and
infinite side of God's mercy and goodness
to you, that He hath placed you among
Sis redeemed ones.' the spirits is
something different from the devils (dae-
mons) in those words above, and denotes a
wider range of influence — influence over
spirit for good— whereby the "spiritual
things of wickedness" (so literati v in Eph.
vi. 12) are subjected to the believers in
Christ. written in heaven is an ex-
pression in various forms frequent in
Scripture, and is opposed to "written in
earth," Jer. xvii. 13, said of the rebellious.
But no immutable predestination is asserted
by it; — in the very first place where it
occurs, Exod. xxxli. 32, 88, the contrary is
implied : — see Ps. lxix. 26; Isa. iv. 3; Dan.
xii. 1 ; Phil. iv. 8 ; Heb. xii. 23 ; Rev. iii.
5, xiii. 8, xx. 12, 15. The words your
names seem to be a reference to in thy
name above, which perhaps was with them
a medium of self-praise, as so often with

Christians. Our Lord says, 'the true
cause of joy for you is, not the power
shewn forth by or in you in My Name, but
that you, your names, are in the book of
life' — as testified by the Spirit which
"beareth witness with our spirit that we
are children of God," Bom. viii. 16. And
this brings us to ver. 21, where our Lord
rejoices in the revelation of these things
even to the babes of the earth by the will
and pleasure of the Father : — these things
— not, the power over the enemy — but all
that is implied in written in heaven.
This, which is the true cause of joy to the
believer, causes even the Saviour Himself
to triumph, anticipating Isa. liii. 11.
91.] The words the holy, before spirit, can-
not well be excluded from the text; the
expression as thus standing, is alone in the
New Testament, but is agreeable to the
analogy of Scripture : compare Bom. i. 4 :
Heb. ix. 14: 1 Pet. iii. 18: see also Bom.
xiv. 17 : 1 Thess. i. 6. The ascription of
praise, and the verses following, are here
in the very closest connexion, and it is per-
fectly unimaginable that they should have
been inserted in this place arbitrarily.
The same has been said of their occurrence
in Matt. xi. 26 ; and, from no love of har-
monizing or escaping difficulties, but from
a deep feeling of the inner spirit of both
discourses, I am convinced that our Lord
did utter, on the two separate occasions,
these weighty words; and I find in them
a most instructive instance of the way in
which such central sayings were repeated
by Him. It was not a rejoicing before (in
Matthew), bnt only a confession : compare
the whole discourse and notes. That

the introductory words in that hour, or
" at that time," may have been introduced
from one passage into the other, and per-
haps by some one who imagined them the
same, I would willingly grant, if needful;

Digitized by VjOOQIC

19—27.

ST. LUKE.

359

even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

22 t » All things are delivered to me of my Father : and • w^jX?11'

bno man knoweth who the Son is, hut the Father; and Sift**7'

who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son *££*•'

*toill reveal him. 23 And he turned him unto his disciples,

and said privately, c Blessed are the eyes which see the°M»".*uLia.

things that ye see: 2* for I tell you, d that many prophets a i pet. i. ic

and kings have desired to see those things which ye see,

and have not seen them ; and to hear those things which

ye hear, and have not heard them.

26 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted
him, saying, e Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal' 2££u- 16'
life ? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law ?
how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, fThou«*«t.Ti.5.

• many ancient authorities read, And he turned him unto his disciples,
and said, All things ....
' better, is pleased to.

not that, in the pretence of such troths,
inch a trifle is worth mention, but that
the shallow school of modern critics do
mention, and rest upon such. On vv. 21,
22, see notes on Matt. zi. 25—27, ob-
serving here the gradual narrowing of the
circle to which our Lord addresses him-
self, ver. 22 (margin), — then ver. 28 the
same, with privately added. 28.]

This verse should not be marked off from
ver. 22 by a new paragraph, as is done in
the A. V. : much less, as in the Gospel for
the 18th Sunday after Trinity, joined with
what follows: except perhaps that the
lesson taught us by its occurring there is
an appropriate one, as shewing us how the
grace of Christian love, which is the sub-
ject of the following parable, fulfils and
abounds over, legal obedience. It is in
connexion with the preceding, and comes
as the conclusion after the thanksgiving in
ver. 21. A similar saying of our Lord
occurs Matt. xiii. 16, 17, but uttered alto-
gether on a different occasion and in a
different connexion. 84. prophets

and kings] David united both these, also
Solomon. There may be an especial
reference to the affecting last words of
David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1—5, which certainly
are a prophecy of the Redeemer, and in
which he says, ver. 5, "This is all my
salvation, and all my desire, though he
make it not to grow:" — see also Gen.
xlix. 18.
25—87.] Question of a lawyer:

THE PABABLB OF THE GOOD SaMABITAN.

Peculiar to Luke. As Stier remarks, it is

well that St. Luke has related the other in-
cident respecting an enquiry of the same
kind, for the critics would be sure to have
maintained that this incident was another
report of Matt. xix. 16. Such clear cases
as this should certainly teach us caution, in
cases where no eueh proof is given of the
independence of the different narratives :
and should shew us that both questions
addressed to our Lord, and answers from
Him, were, as matter of met, repeated.
See however a case to which this
remark does not apply, ch. ix. 67 ff.
86.] No immediate sequence from ver. 24
is implied. lawyer, a kind of scribe—

"a doctor of the law,*' ch. v. 17 -whose
especial office it was to teach the law, see
Tit. iii. 18; "one of the scribes y" Mark
xii. 28. There is no reason to sup-

pose that the lawyer had any hostile in-
tention towards Jesus,— rather perhaps a
self-righteous spirit (see ver. 29), which
wanted to see what this Teacher could
inform him, who knew so much already.
Thus it was a tempting or truing of Jesus,
though not to entangle Him: for what-
ever had been the answer, this could hardly
have followed. what shall I do] He

doubtless expects to hear of some great
deed; but our Lord refers him back to
the Law of which he is a teacher.
26. how readest thoul A common rab-
binical formula for eliciting a text of
Scripture. howl i. e. to what pur-

port ; so that the answer should contain a
summary of his reading in the Law.
27.] The first part of this, together with

Digitized by VjOOQIC

300

ST. LUKE.

Neh.ix.89. , , ,.

Sffi1|l2:.Bbalthve.

x.S.
ioh.zrl.lS,

shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy

v Ler. iix. is. mind ; and thy g neighbour as thyself. ^ And he said

hLer.xviii.s. unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do. and hthou
29 But he, willing to 'justify himself, said unto
Jesus, And who is my neighbour ? 80 And Jesus answer-
ing said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his
raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him
half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain

*p». «**«i. priest that way : and when he saw him, k he passed by on
the other side. 82 And likewise a Levite, when he was at
the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the

uohniv.Q. other side. M But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed,
where he was: and when he saw him, he had

came

Deut. xi. 18 ffl, the Jews bad written on
their phylacteries, and recited night and
morning: but not the second; so that
the idea that Jeans pointed to the phy-
lactery of the lawyer, will not hold.
Meyer thinks the man answered thus,
because he had before heard our Lord cite
these in connexion, and with an especial
view to asking the question "who is my
neighbour ?" It may have been so; —
but I should rather believe the same spirit
with which he began, to have carried him
on to this second question. The words
willing to justify himself seem to imply
this ; but see below. 29.1 Meyer ex-

plains this: The questioner, having been
by our Lord's enquiry, "how readest
thou ? " himself thrown into the position
of the answerer, yet, " willing to justify
himself" wishing to carry out the purpose
with which he asked at first, and to cover
what otherwise would be his shame at
being answered by so simple a reply, and
that his own, — asks, "who is my neigh-
bour 1" — I may observe that we need not
take the whole of this explanation, but
may well suppose that "to justify him-
self" may mean, 'to get himself out of
the difficulty : ' viz. by throwing on Jesus
the definition of one's neighbour, which was
very narrowly and technically interpreted
among the Jews, excluding Samaritans
and Gentiles: 30.] answering, lite-

rally, taking him up,— implies that the
question was made an occasion of saying
more than the mere answer. went

down, both because Jerusalem was higher,
and because ' to go up ' is the usual phrase
for journeying towards a metropolis.

from Jerusalem to Jericho, about 150
stadia (i. e. about 18 miles 6 furlongs J dis-
tant. The road passed through a wilder-
ness (Josh. xvi. 1) which was notorious for
the robberies committed there. "Arabs,
. . . which race, given to habits of plunder,
to this day infests the borders of Palestine,
and lies in wait for travellers from Jeru-
salem to Jericho, as our Lord relates in
the Gospel." Jerome, Commentary on Jer.
iii. 2. The same Father, who lived for
many years in the neighbourhood* men-
tions that a part of the road was so in-
famous for murders, as to be called the
red or bloody way, and that in his time
there was a fort there garrisoned by Bo-
man soldiers, to protect travellers,
loll among: i.e. they surrounded him.
stripped him, not merely of his
clothing, but of all he had; — "despoiled
him," as the Vulgate renders it.
31.1 Many priests journeyed this way, for
Jericho was a priestly city; this man is
perhaps represented as having been up to
Jerusalem in the order of his course, and
returning. The Law and Prophets

enjoined the act of mercy which this priest
refused ; see Exod. xxiii. 4, 5 : Deut. xxii.
1 — 4 : Isa. lviii. 7, not, it is true, literally,
— and therefore he neglected it. He did
not even go up to him to examine him, but
passed by on the opposite side of the road.

38.] The Levite, the inferior minis-
ter of the law, did even worse ; when he
was at the place, he came and saw him ; —
came near, and then passed, as the other.

33—85.] The Samaritans were en-
tirely, not half, Gentiles, Why our
Lord mentions the name here, see below.

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28—37.

ST. LUKE.

361

compassion [Son him], ^and went to him, and bound
up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on
his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care
of him. 85 And on the morrow [* when he departed] ,
he took out two i pence, and gave them to the host, and
said [*urito him], Take care of him; and whatsoever
thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
86 Which [* now] of these three, thinkest thou, was
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves ? s7 And
he' said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus
unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

9 not in the original.

b omitted by many of the oldest authorities.
* render, denarii.

had companion] This was the
great difference between the Samaritan
and the others ; — the actions which follow
are bnt the expansion of this compassion.

oil and wine} These were usual
remedies for wounds in the East; Galen,
cited by Wetstein, prescribes thus for a
wound in the head. "Rub down the ten-
devest leaves of the olive,— pour in oil
and red wine, and make a plaster:" — see
also Isa. i. 6. on his own beast,

thereby denying himself the use of it.
This is the only place where an
inn, as we understand the word, a house
for reception of travellers kept by a host,
as distinguished from an empty caravan-
serai, is mentioned. The Rabbinical writers
frequently speak of such, but under a name
adopted from this Greek word. Bleek re-
marks that this serves to shew, that there
were such inns in, that neighbourhood*
though certainly they were not frequent,
two denarii] Some see in this, two
days' wages. See note on Matt. xx. 2.

36.] It will be observed that our
Lord not only elicits the answer from the
questioner himself, but that it comes in an
inverted form. The lawyer had asked,
to whom he was to understand himself
obliged to fulfil the duties of neighbour-
ship? but the answer has for its subject
one who fulfilled them to another. The
reason of this is to be found, — partly
in the relation of neighbourship being
mutual, so that if this man is my neigh*
bour, I am his also; — but chiefly in the
intention of our Lord to bring out a
strong contrast, by putting the hated and
despised Samaritan in the active place,
and thus to reflect back the likewise more
pointedly. " Observe, that the was neigh-
bour, is literally became neighbour. The
neighbour Jews became strangers, the

stranger Samaritan became neighbour, to
the wounded traveller. It is not place,
but love, which makes neighbourhood."
Wordsworth. 37.1 The lawyer does not
answer— 'The Samaritan:1 he avoids this ;
but he cannot avoid it in conviction and
matter of net. do thou likewise, i. e.

' count all men thy neighbours, and love
them as thyself.' The student ac-

customed to look at all below the surface
of Scripture, will not miss the meaning
which lies behind this parable, and which
— while disclaiming all fanciful allegorizing
of the text— I do not hesitate to say that
our Lord Himself had in view when He
uttered it. All acts of charity and mercy
done here below, are but fragments and
derivatives of that one great act of mercy
which the Saviour came on earth to per-
form. And as He took on Jlim the nature
of us all, being 'not ashamed to call us
brethren/ counting us all His kindred, —
so it is but natural that in holding up a
mirror (for such is a parable) of the truth
in this matter of duty, we should see in
it not only the present and prominent
group, but also Himself and His act of
mercy behind. And thus we shall not (in
spite of the scoffs which are sure to beset
such an interpretation, from the super-
ficial school of critics) give up the inter-
pretation of the Fathers and other di-
vines, who see in this poor traveller,
going from the heavenly to the accursed
city (Josh. vi. 26 : 1 Kings xvi. 34),— the
race of man, the Adam who fell;— in the
robbers and murderers, him who was a
murderer from the beginning (John viii.
44); -in the treatment of the traveller,
the deep wounds and despoilment which
we have inherited from the fall; — in the
priest and the Levite passing by, the in-
efficacy of the law and sacrifice to heal

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362

ST. LUKE.

X. 38—42.

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered

into a certain village : and a certain woman - named

"riSX?"11 m Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a

n Lake viii.8& sister called Mary> n which also sat at i Jesus' feet, and

Act* xxil. 8. J * ill

heard his word. **> But Martha was cumbered about much
serving, and came to him, and said. Lord, dost thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve alone ? bid her
therefore that she help me. *l And Jesus answered and
said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and
troubled about many things : 42 but one thing is needful :

J read, with many ancient authorities, the Lord's.

and clothe as : Gal. ill. 21 (Trench remarks
that the Church, by joining the passage
Gal. iii. 16—23 as Epistle, with this Para-
• ble as Gospel for the 13th Sunday after
Trinity, has stamped this interpretation
with her approval): — in the good Sama-
ritan, Him of whom it was lately said,
" Say we not well that thorn art a Samari-
tan, and hast a devil ? " (John viii. 48)—
who came to bind up the broken-hearted,
to give them the oil of joy for mourning
(lea. lxi. 1 If.) ; — who for our sokes be-
came poor, that we through Hie poverty
might become rich : who, though now gone
from us, has left with us precious gifts, and
charged His ministers to feed His lambs,
promising them, when the chief Shepherd
shall appear, a crown of glory that mdeth
not away (1 Pet. v. 2, 4). Further perhaps
it is weu not to go ; — or, if we do, onlv in
our own private meditations, where, if we
have the great clue to such interpretations,
knowledge of Christ for ourselves, and
a sound mind under the guidance of His
Spirit,— we shall not go far wrong. But
minutely to allegorize, is to bring the sound
spiritual interpretation into disrepute, and
throw stumbling-blocks in the way of
many, who might otherwise arrive at it.
88—42.] Entbbtainment of our

LOBD AT THE HOUSE OF MaBTHA AHD

Mart. It surely never could be doubted
.who this Martha and Mary were, nor
where this took place,— but that the har-
monizing spirit has so beclouded the sight
of our critics. Bengel believes them not
to be the sisters of Lazarus, but another
Martha and Mary somewhere else; — and
this in spite of the deep psychological
identity of characters which meets us in
John xi. zii. Greswell, still more

strangely, believes the persons to be the
same, but that they had another residence
in Galilee. I shall, as elsewhere, take the
text in its most obvious and simple inter-
pretation, and where nothing definite is

inserted in it, throw light on it from what
we know from other sources. And I
believe most readers will agree with me
in taking these for the sisters of Lazarus,
and the village for Bethany. 88.] mm

they went need make no difficulty — the
whole of the events related in this section
of the Gospel are allotted, as in the widest
sense they belonged, to the last journey of
our Lord from Galilee, which ended in the
triumphal entry into Jerusalem ; — see note
on ch. ix. 51 ff. Jesus, as we know that
He afterwards did, so now probably, when
at Jerusalem (at the feast of Dedication),
abode at Bethany. He 'loved' — (only
used in this sense by John with regard to
this family and to himself) — Martha and
Mary and Lazarus— and this word implies
surely hospitality and intercourse,
a certain woman] It does not follow that
Martha was a widow ; the incident brings
out the two sisters, and therefore no
others are mentioned. She may have had
a husband or a father living. At all
events, it is a consistency belonging to
real life, that we find the same person
prominent in the family in John, as here.
89.] It- does not appear that the
meal had begun; far rather is it likely
that Martha was busy about preparing it-
Mary sat at the Lord's feet, as His disciple,
while He was discoursing. 41, 42.]

The repetition of her name indicates re-
proof, thou art careful (it is the same
word as that in Matt. vi. 25, Ac, and there
rendered "to take anxious thought")
expresses the inner anxiety :- troubled,
the outer bustle and confusion. one
thing] Perhaps we should not express the
two words more definitely, for fear of
narrowing the wide sense in which they
are spoken. I can hardly doubt that our
Lord, in the first and most obvious mean-
ing indicated that simpler preparation
would have been all that was needful, but
the many leads to the one, and that to the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XI. 1—4.

ST. LUKE.

363

and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.

XI. 1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a
certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said
unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his
disciples. a And he said unto them, When ye pray, say,
•Our Father p which art in heaven], Hallowed be thy • n«tt. tlo.
name. Thy kingdom come. [* Thy will be done, as in
heaven, so in earth.'] 8 Give us day by day our daily
bread. * And forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive

* omit : see note.

good part, the "one" being the middle
term of comparison between the natural
" many " and the spiritual "good part'*
So that the whole will imply — only within
the circle of Christ's disciples, those who
act from love (mistaken or otherwise) to
Him— much as John vi. 27, — and will set
before ns the bread which perisheth on
one hand, and that which endnreth to
everlasting life on the other. The good
portion is the one thing which is needful
—see John vi. 63,— the feeding on the
bread of life by faith ; which faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of
Christ, which Marv was now receiving into
her soul, and which (John vi. 54) shall
never be taken away, but result in ever-
lasting life. The two types of charac-
ter have ever been found in the Church ;
both, caring for I$m, and for love to Him
doing what they do : hut the one busy and
restless, anxious, and stirring; the other
quiet and humble, content to sit at His
feet and learn. We see here which of the
two He praises. But on the other hand
we must not derive any argument hence
against an active Christian life of doing
good : this is, in fact, to sit at His feet
and learn— to take His yoke on us, and
learn of Him. It is the bustling about
the many things of which there is no need,
which is blamed; not the working out the
fruits of the Spirit, which are needful,
being parts themselves of the good part.

Chap. XL 1—18.] Jbsus tbachsb
the disciples to pkay. The locality
and time of the following incident are
alike indefinite. The only limits are
those of the great journey which is the
subject of this section. There is no reason
for supposing this to be the only occasion
on which the Lord delivered this prayer to
His disciples. In the Sermon on the
Mount, it stands in close connexion with
what goes before ;— and here also. In so
weighty a summary of His teaching as
that was, He was not likely, when speak-

ing of prayer, to omit it ; — when asked by
His disciples to teach them to pray, He
was not likely to depart from the form
once given them. Such are ordinary pro-
babilities, antecedent to every question
affecting the two Gospels : and those critics
who throw aside all such, are far more
prejudiced in reality, than those who allow
them full weight. "The peculiar and
abridged form in Luke," says Meyer, "is
a proof that the apostolic Church did not
use the Lord's prayer as a form." Rather,
we may say, a proof of the fidelity with
which our Evangelist reproduced his ori-
ginal reports, not correcting them, as
others after him did, to suit the forms
most probably in use. If the apostolic
Church did not use the Lord's Prayer as a
form, — when did its use begin, which we
find in every known Liturgy P L]

as John also .... of this fact we know
nothing beyond the allusion here.
2.] When ye pray say ... . more definite
than " after this manner pray ye . . . ." in
Matthew. On the prayer itself, see notes
on Matt. vi. 9—13. The clauses printed
in brackets in the text could hardly by
any possibility have been omitted by any,
had they ever formed a part of it. The
shorter form, found in the Vatican, the
most ancient of all our MSS., and in
the recentlv published Sinaitic MS., was
the original one: then the copyists in-
serted the clauses which were not found
here, taking them from St. Matthew.
That this, and not the converse process,
must have been the one followed, is evi-
dent to any one who considers the mat-
ter. Stier's argument, that our text has
not been conformed to Matthew, because
the doxology has never been inserted here,
seems to me to tend in quite another direc-
tion : the doxology was inserted there, be-
cause that was tie form in general liturgi-
cal use, and not here, because this form
was never used UturgicaUy. • 8.]

literally .... for that day's need, or, for

Digitized by VjOO

gle

864

ST. LUKE.

XI.

every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into
temptation \} ; but deliver us from evil] . 5 And he said
unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go
unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me
three loaves ; 6 for a friend of mine in his journey is come
to me, and I have nothing to set before him ? 7 And he
from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the
door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed ; I
cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, b Though he
will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet
because of his m importunity he will rise and give him as
many as he needeth. 9 c And I say unto you, Ask, and it
*££ jfijji shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
iiL2s!,ohn shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh
receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that
Matt.vu.«. knocketh it shall be opened. u d If a son shall ask bread
of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone ?
or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ?

* omit : see note. m render, shamelessness.

b eh. xrlii. 1,

DMatt.vf!.7:
xxi.M. Mark

that day. 4.] for we alio .... ex-

pressed here more strongly than in Mat-
thew, as the plea for the exercise of
the divine forgiveness to us, — 'for it is
our own practice also to forgive :' hnt
notice the difference — there is no sin in
this second case, between man and man,
only the ordinary business word of this
world. 5.] Now follows a parable on

continuing instant in prayer, of the same
nature as that in ch. xviii. 2. ff. In both
parables, the argument is that called
' a fortiori ;' " if selfish man can be won
by prayer and importunity to give, and
unjust man to do right, much more cer-
tainly shall the bountiful Lord bestow, and
the righteous Lord do justice," Trench;
who further remarks, that here interces-
sory prayer is the subject of the parable ;*
there, personal. And, that we must re-
member that all reluctance on the part
of God to answer our prayers is not real,
but apparent only, and arises from deeper
reasons working for our good: whereas
the reluctance in these two parables is
real, arising from selfishness and contempt
of justice. 6. in his journey] In the

East it was and is the custom to travel
late at night, for coolness sake. Why

three loaves does not appear. I forbear to
give the allegorical interpretations of the
number, which abound: the significance
of the thing asked for, see below on ver.
13. 7-] We have an interesting frag-

ment of domestic life here given us. The
door is ' barred,' not only * shot ;' there is
the trouble of unbarring it: the father
and children are in bed (observe how in
all the parables which place the Father, or
the Husband, before us, the Mother, or the
Bride, does not appear); and he cannot
(i. e. will not, cannot from being over-
come by reluctance) rise and give to him.
8.] The word is too mildly ren-
dered in the A. V. by * importunity J It
should be, as in margin, shamelestnee*.
It is presupposed here that the postulant
goes on knocking and asking. 9.]

What follows is in the closest connexion,
and will not bear the idea that it is trans-
ferred here merely as being appropriate.
The asking, seeking, knocking, all answer
to the features of the parable. 10.]

declares to us not merely a result observ-
able here among men, (in which sense it is
not universally true,) but a great law of
our Father's spiritual Kingdom : a clause
out of the eternal Covenant, which cannot
be changed. 11— 13.] Our Lord sets

forth the certainty of our obtaining the
Holy Spirit, (the unspeakable gift, in
which all other good gifts are included,)
from our Father, by another ' a fortiori '
argument, drawn from the love of earthly
parents, so far less careful and tenderly
wise than He is over His children.
For the rest, see notes on Matt. vii. 7 ff.
The egg and scorpion are added here.

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5—15.

ST. LUKE.

365

12 or if he shall ask an egg, will he a offer him a scorpion ?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children : how much more shall °your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?

14 e And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb, ^^f^-^1
And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the
dumb spake ; and the P people wondered. 15 But some of

11 render, give : the word it the same as above.

0 literally, the Father from heaven. " Your" is not expressed at all.

P render, multitudes.

The serpent and scorpion are the positively
mischievous : the samples, ch. x. 19, of the
"power of the enemy :"— the stone, that
which is simply unfit for food. So that
God's answers to our prayers consist of
neither useless nor mischievous things,
but of His best gift— His Holy Spirit— in
all the various and fitting manifestations
of His guidance, and consolation, and
teaching, in our lives. This is (because
this takes of and imparts to us by leading
us continually to Him who is) the " bread "
of the parable;— the "father of the family"
is the Father from Heaven, with whom
however the night is as the day, who never
slumbers nor sleeps. It has been noticed
how by the hungry traveller coming to
the man, may be imported, in the depth
of the parable, the awakening in a man's
own soul (which is so precious to him)
of that hunger which he has nothing to
satisfy, and which none but God can
satisfy. The reader may, as in the fore-
going parable, follow out this clue for him-
self (provided it be done soberly) with
much interest and profit. Notice

that when we address God (Matt. vi. 9),
He is " Our Father (which is) in heaven"
— when Me answers us, He is the Father
from heaven. In the former case, we go
up into Him and His abode ; in the latter
He comes down to us.

14—86.] Accusation op casting out
devils by Beelzebub, and demand oe

A SIGN PBOM HEAVEN, OUB LoBD'fl
DI8COUB8E THEBEUPON. Matt. xii. 22—

45. Mark iii. 23— 30. The reasonings of Mr.
Greswell to shew that St. Luke relates an
entirely different incident from St. Matthew
and St. Mark, able and well conducted as
they are, fail to carry conviction to my mind.
The marks of identity are too many and
striking to be mistaken ; and on the plan
of discrimination which he has adopted,
1 am persuaded that we might prove four
distinct Crucifixions and Resurrections to
have happened just as easily. Besides, it

is quite impossible to carry the hypothesis
throughout this section of St. Luke's
Gospel : and when it has been once given
up, a considerable difference is made in the
way of regarding the various narrations.
On the side of which Evangelist the strict
accuracy lies, it is next to impossible for
us now to decide. I am inclined to think
that the section from ch. xi. 14— xiL 53 (or
rather perhaps 59) is a connected whole,
or, at all events, is intended to form such.
But then the whole is introduced (ver.
14) without any mark of connexion with
the preceding, and terminated as abruptly.
On the other hand, the narrative in Mat-
thew is introduced by his usual " Then "
following upon a very general descrip-
tion of a retirement of our Lord, and
His being pursued by multitudes, all of
whom He healed; but whether the mul-
titudes are the same, and the "then"
meant to specify that this incident oc-
curred then and there, is by no means
certain. Nor is the close of the section
(xii. 50) bound very closely to xiii. 1, which
commences "In that day" (not as the
A. V., see margin), and can hardly be said
with certainty to define the very same
natural day. We may observe that the
attendant circumstances, as introduced and
closed in Mark iii. 20; iv. 1, are equally
indeterminate. I therefore leave the dif-
ficulty where I found it, and where I be-
lieve it will ever remain, during our pre-
sent state of imperfection : only observing,
that the important incident and discourse
grounded on it are no way thereby in-
validated in authority. It seems to have
been a portion of the evangelic history,
the position of which was not exactly and
satisfactorily fixed; of which there have
been already some instances (see ch. ix.
57—62), and there are, as will be seen,
yet more as we proceed. 14.1 dumb

— and blind, Matthew, ver. 22, where see
notes on all the common matter.
15. some of them] No inference can here

Digitized by VjOOQIC

866

ST. LUKE.

XI.

nSP*L'Ut ^em 8a*d, f He casteth out devils through 9 Beelzebub the
*SSft*i,"*a* c^e^ °f the devils. 16 And others, tempting him, « sought
*££]£■*• of him a sign from heaven. *7 hBut he, 'knowing their
ijqfcniitt. thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation ; and a house divided against
a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against him-
self, how shall his kingdom stand ? because ye say that I
cast out devils through * Beelzebub. 19 And if I by
* Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast
them out ? therefore shall they be your judges. *° But if
I k with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the
kingdom of God is come upon you* 21 'When Ta strong1
man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace :
mc£"i""is."" 22 k^ n when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and
overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein
nM*tt.xii.a©. he * trusted, and divideth his spoils. 2S n He that is not
with me is against me : and he that gathereth not with

* in the original, Beelzebul. r render, the.

■ render, had trusted.

k Exod. TfU.
19.

1 Matt. xii. SO.
Mark iti. S7.

be drawn that these persons were not
Pharisees (as Greswell has done), and con-
sequently that the charge proceeded from
a different quarter. 18.] This is

not mentioned here by St. Matthew, but
further on in the discourse, ver. 88. No
distinction can be drawn, as Greswell has
done, for the purpose of maintaining that
the two incidents were distinct, between
" a sign" and " a sign from heaven :" for
(1) our Lord answers the demand in both
places by the tame reply, the sign of Jonas ;
see also Matt xvi. 1—4; and (2) the or-
dinary Jewish idea attached to a sign
would imply from heaven : see notes on
Matt xvi. 1. 17.] knowing their

thoughts : so Matthew also, ver. 26.
20. with the linger of God] " by the Spirit
of Qod" Matthew. No distinction can
be established, as Greswell attempts. The
one expression explains the other. What
was done (Hebraistically speaking) by the
finger of God, was done by the Spirit of
God. We have much greater variations
than this in sayings demonstrably the
same. 21.] This parabolic sentence

is in close connexion with many prophetic
sayings, Isa. xl. 10 marg., liii. 12, and most
pointedly Isa. xlix. 24, 26. It will be re-
membered that the Baptist called the
Lord by this name, a stronger, or one who
is mightier— placing after it, it is true,
"than I» but stiU using it as indicative
of the Almightiness of the Son of God,

rather than in comparison with himself.
The strong man is the adversary,
Satan; his palace this present world, —
John xii. 81 ; xiv. 80 ; xvi. 11. His goods
or tools, or spoils, — are the tone of men, —
2 Tim. ii. 26; 1 John v. 19 (margin).
With these is he clothed and armed, or
rather with their evil capacities, which he
furbishes and brightens for his use : with
this whole armour of the devU, compare
by way of contrast, the " whole armowr of
God," Eph. vi. 11—20. Without these
arms and took he would be powerless:
the evil one must have evil
thing receptive of evil— to work
But these the Stronger than he takes 1
him, and divides his spoils, Isa. liii. 12.
He divides hie spoils — turns to His own
use and that of His followers all that good
which the enemy had corrupted into evil.
The Stronger had already come
into the strong man's house —the Saviour,
into the world — and was robbing him of
his captives, and making them into His
own disciples — e. g. Mary Magdalene and
others : but the work was not fully com-
pleted yet, till the Lord, by and in His death,
overcame him that had the power of death,
i. e. the devil. And that His great victory
is still proceeding ; — He is still taking from
him one and another, — rescuing the sons
of men by the power of His Gospel, till
the end, when He shall (Bev. xx. 1 ff.J hind
him in the abyss; and though ho be

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16—29.

ST. LUKE.

367

me scattereth. 84f ° When the unclean spirit is gone out of ° *■*■*"• «••

a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest ; and

finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence

I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept

and garnished. 2e Then goeth he, and taketh to him

seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they

enter in, and dwell there : and pthe last state of that man p&imy.M.

' 1Ieb.vi.4i

is worse than the first. £5. ' Pet*

87 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a
certain woman *of the company lifted up her voice, and
said unto him, * Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and «ch.i.*4§.
the paps which thou hast sucked. M But he said, Yea,
'rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and'X'vui!*?.1,
keep it. 2* • And when the u people were gathered thick ■ mSTxIl^
together, he began to say, v This is an evil generation :

* render, from among the multitude.
11 render, multitudes were gathering.
v read, This generation.

loosed for the final conflict by His suffer-
ance, shall cast him overthrown into the
lake of fire for ever. Rev. xx. 14.
28.] See on Matthew, ver. 80. 94—86.]
See on Matt. xii. 43. 27, 28.] This

little but most instructive incident, here
interposed, serves to shew the originality
of St. Luke's account, and that/Vhatever
its position may be, it is itself of the high-
est authority. The woman apparently was
influenced by nothing but common -place
and unintelligent wonder at the sayings
and doings of Jesus : — and she broke out,
with true womanly feeling, into a blessing
of the mother who bare such a wonder*
ful Teacher. Such seems to be the ac-
count of the incident itself. Our
Lord's reply is indeed wonderful : — (1) In
reproof. He corrects in her the un-
apprehensiveness of His word, which had
caused her to go no further into the
meaning of it than this ordinary eulogy
imported, — and gives her an admonition
how to profit better by it in future.
(2) In humility. He disclaims all this
kind of admiration, for Ms humanity : and
says not ' my word,' but the word of God,
which is in fact the same, but takes the
view off from Him in His abasement, unto
the Father who sent Him. (3) In
truth. He does not deny the honour
hereby pronounced upon His mother, but
beautifully turns it to its true side— viz.
that which was given her long since —
blessed is the that believed, ch. i. 45.
Her blessedness consisted not so much

in being His mother, as in her lowly
and faithful observance of the word of the
Lord spoken to her; see ch. ii. 19, 51.
Nor again does He deny that to have
borne Him was an honour — yea, rather :
— ' yes, indeed, but.' (4) In prophetic

discernment. It will be seen that this
answer cuts at the root of all worship of
Mary, and shews us in what the true
honour of that holy woman consisted,— in
faith and obedience. As the mother of
the Lord, she represents our human race,
unto whom a child is born, a son is given ;
no individual exclusive honour is due to
her, any more than to Cornelius, who was
singled out from the Gentile world, and
honoured by an angelic message relative
to the divine purposes :— if she were, as
there is every reason to conclude she was,
a believer in her Son, the Son of man, she
bore Christ in a far higher and more
blessed sense than by being His mother in
His humanity. And this honour may all
believers in Him partake of with her;
therefore the Lord says not "she that
heareth . . ." but they that hear. The last
and boldest perversion of these words of
our Lord by Father Newman, viz., that
He thus does but still further exalt her
honour, in that, besides being His mother,
she heard His word and kept it, need only
be mentioned, to show the follies to which
able men are abandoned, who once desert
truth and simplicity. 29.1 This is

now in answer to those who sought of Him
a sign from Heaven. when the mul-

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368 ST. LUKE. XI.

w they seek a sign ; and there shall no sign be given it, but

t'LM?L171 ^he ^ff11 °f Jonas [x the prophef]. 3° For as * Jonas was a

sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to

uiKing.x.1. this generation. 81 uThe queen of the south shall rise up

in the judgment with the men of this generation, and

condemn them : for she came from the utmost parts of the

earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, J a

greater than Solomon is here. S2 The men of Nineve shall

rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall

x Jonah iils. condemn it : for z they repented at the preaching of Jonas :

ynatt.Y.is. and. behold, %a greater than Jonas is here. ^^No man,

Mark iv. 11. *

oh. tiu. in. when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place,
neither under * a bushel, but on * a candlestick, that they
*Mau.vt.M. which come in may see the light. ** * The b light of the
body is Db the eye: [c therefore'] when thine eye is single, thy
whole body also is ecfull of light ; but when thine eye is evil,
thy body also is ^full of darkness. 36 Take heed therefore
that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 36 If thy
whole body therefore be ecfull of light, having no part

w render, it seeketh. x omit.

y render, there is more than Solomon here.
■ render, there is more than Jonas here.
ft render, the : and correct similarly in Matt. v. 15.

^ render, candle. It is the same word as that so rendered above, and is used
in allusion to that.

D* read, thine. c omit. co render, light. d render, dark.

titudes were gathering . . . perhaps in ex- for the undervaluing and not appreciating
pectation, as He paused in His discourse, His wisdom, will not lie so heavy on them
that the sign was now about to be shewn t in the judgment, as the rejection of His
— see notes on Matthew for the main sub- preaching of repentance. 33—36.]
ject. Here we have one part of the Our Lord goes on to speak of His teaching
sign of Jonas brought out, which is not and miracles, which this generation de-
touched on in Matthew, viz. his preaching spised, and demanded a sign from heaven in
after his resurrection to the Ninevites, preference; He tells them that they will
announcing— for that would necessarily be not see the significance of them, because
involved in that preaching — the wonderful they shut the eyes of their understanding,
judgment of God in bringing him there, — which should be the light of the soul; —
and thus making his own deliverance, that this is set before them in a parable con-
he might preach to them, a sign to that cerning the light of the body, which is the
people ; which sign (ver. 32) they received, outward eye. The sentences are repeated
and repented;— but more than Jonas, a from the Sermon on the Mount, see Matt,
greater sign by far, this generation shall v. 15 ; vi. 22 f. (where see notes on all that
reject. 32.] Not ' a greater than is common), and ch. viii. 16 ; but, as has
Jonas,' or ' than Solomon :' but Jonah been shewn, the truth shines from a dif-
here is used as equivalent to the sign of ferent side of them here. 33.] a sc-
Jonah, — so that more applies to Him who oret place — more properly, a orypt, or
is the sign to this generation : — a sign, covered passage. 36.] It has been
greater, both in its actuality, its signifi- said of this verse by a very able expositor
cance, and its consequences. The order, (Be Wette) that it is " tautological : the
here, seems to be for the sake of climax ; — second member contains the same assertion

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so— sa.

ST. LUKE.

369

dark, the whole shall be ** full of light, as when • the bright

shining of a candle doth give thee light. 87 And as he spake,

a certain Pharisee besought him to 'dine with him: and

he went in, and sat down to meat. ^And awhen the •*•*'*• «•

Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed

before ' dinner. 39 b And the Lord said unto him, Now do bg^»I1L

ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the

• render, a candle lighteneth thee with its brightness.

' see note.

as the first." — Let us examine this. 'When
thine eye is single (ver. 34), — i. e. simple,
— straight and single-seeing, — thy whole
hody will he light.' Then (ver. 36),— 'tf
this be so, — if thy whole hody be light,
having no part dark, — then it shall all be
light as when a lamp with its brightness
illuminates thee.' Of what is our Lord
speaking ? Of His teaching, as appre-
hended by the simple, single-seeing soul.
If then the soul be so, — having no part
darkened by prejudice or selfish lusts, and
approach thus to His teaching, it shall be
wholly illuminated by it, as by the candle
of the Lord, searching its inward, parts.
So this saying, which, even as it stands, is
not tautological, — for the second clause
expresses the further result and waxing
onward of the shining light, arising from
the singleness of the eye, — becomes, in its
spiritual significance, a weighty declara-
tion of truth, answering to en. viii. 15 : —
see also John viii. 12.

37—54.] Discoubse against the
Phabisbss. There can be no antecedent
improbability in the supposition that our
Lord spoke on various occasions, and with
various incidental references, the compo-
nent parts of that great anti-pharisaic dis-
course contained in Matt, xxiii. That woe
spoken in the temple, during the last week
of His ministry; it formed the solemn
close of His public teaching, — and at the
end of it He departed out of the temple to
return no more. I do not think it possible
to suppose any part of that discourse in
Matthew to be related otherwise than in
its true place; all probability is against
such an idea,— and so is the character of
the reports of discourses in that Gospel,
in general so strictly coherent and exact.
There is then but one supposition left, unless
we suppose St Luke to have put together,
at random a number of fragments, and to
have inserted them here, creating an occa*
sionfor them (for it amounts to this), which
is equally inconceivable. And that is, that
our Lord spoke at this meal, the occasion
being the wonder of the Pharisee at His
not washing before sitting cjown to meat,
Vol. I.

parts of that discourse, with which He
afterwards solemnly closed His public
ministry. See throughout, notes on Matt,
xxiii. ' 37. to dine] This meal, as

also that in John xxi. 12, 15, was not
what we now understand by dinner, an
afternoon meal, but the first meal of the
.day, the breakfast or dejeuner in the
prime of the morning. We may retain
dine (indeed we have no other fitting
word) provided we remember this.
88,] The expression of this wonder is
not stated, but it is probable that it
found expression in, some open way.
Our Lord would hardly have so sud-
denly begun, ye Pharisees, unless some-
thing had been said, to which by as-
sent they were parties. See His pro-
ceeding when nothing was said, — ch. vii.
89, 40. washed] literally baptised.

This use of the word shews that it
did not imply necessarily .immersion of
the whole body ; — for it was only the
hands which the Pharisees washed be-
fore meat. 8ft.] There is not the
least improbability or incongruity in our
Lord's having thus spoken as a guest at a
meal (as some of the German Commentators
maintain); — Sis solemn work of reproof
and teaching was never suspended out of
mere compliment,— nor were the inten-
tions of the Pharisees towards Him so
friendly as these invitations seem to imply.
They were given mostly from deference to
popular opinion, and from no love to Him ;
— sometimes even with a directly hostile
object. See w. 53, 64, and compare also
ch. vii. 44 — 46. Observe also, that the
severest parts of the discourse in Matthew
(w. 13—2$, 33) were not uttered on this
occasion. How, i. e. as instanced by
your present conduct — Hera is an in*
stance of your, Ac the eup and the
platter— understand, 'in the proverb'— -or
perhaps the apnlication is left to be enthy-
mematically filled up, for the next clause
presupposes it. the outside and the
inward part of a man, are not the outside
and inside of the body — but the outside
apparent conduct, and the inner unseen

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

870

ST. LUKE.

dim. Will. 7.
Dan. W. J7.
ch. xii. S3.

• Matt-xxiU.
IS.

oTitu.i.15. platter; but efova inward part is full of * ravening and
wickedness. *° Ye fools, did not he that made that which
is without make that which is within also ? 41 d But rather
give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all
things are clean unto yon. *2 • But woe unto you, Pha-
risees, for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs,
and pass over judgment and the love of God : these ought
ye to have done, and not to leave the. other undone.

Y%&yii!a£ ^ f ^oe un^° 70U> Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost
&e* seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

cM«t.xxiu. 44 g Woe un^0 y0U^ [hscribe8 and Pharisees, hypocrites!]

hPi.v.9. hfor ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that
walk over them are not aware of them. ** Then answered
one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying
thou reproachest us also. ** And he said, Woe unto you

!Matt.xxiu.4.also, ye lawyers, !for ye lade men with burdens grievous

9 i. e. plunder.

motives. Some difficulty has been

found m the parallelism of the outside of
the enp and platter and your inward part.
Bat the fact is, that the parable and its
interpretation are intermixed throughout
the whole, the mind of the hearer being
left to find its own way in allotting each
its part. 40.] seems clearly to me to

be a question, and to mean, as A. V., Did
not He, who made the outside, make the
inside also 1 — i. e. if His works have be-
come unclean and polluted through sin,
what is the use of only partially purging
them, — not accomplishing the purgation ?
—most not the cleansing, to be good for
any thing, extend to the whole t See, on
a proposal otherwise to understand it, the
note in my Greek Test. 41.] Many

Commentators, from whom I am compelled
entirely to differ, understand this as ironi-
cal— « but ye give alms of their contents,
and, behold, all things are clean (in your
estimation) to yon* But this would be
altogether irrelevant to the matter in
hand, which was reproof to the Pharisees
for their care about outward cleanliness,
when the inside was left unclean. It
would also be altogether contrary to our
Lord's usual habit of speaking about
giving alms, to make Him cast a slur on
it, as this would do : see Mark z. 21 ; ch.
zii. 88, where the expression is very simi-
lar to this. The command is a rebuke
for their covetousness (see ch. xvi. 14),
which follows in close connexion with
ravening {plunder) and wickedness, ver.
89. such things as ye have (literally,

* omit.

the things inside) are the contents of the
vessel,' which vessel (ver. 89: see note
above) is the men themselves : and is there-
fore equivalent in its meaning to that ye
have of ch. xii. 33,— and the all things
are clean answers to the treasure in
heaven of that verse, the result of which
is the " heart in heaven :" and such per-
sons being pure in heart,— to them, as to
the pure, all things are pore (Titus i. 15).
48.] But woe unto you, for je
do not this,— but make the most trifling
payments, Ac. The connexion, which w
thus so close, is quite destroyed by the
ironical interpretation of ver. 41. See
note on Matt, xxiii. 23. 48.] Matt

xxiii. 6, 7. There doubtless was ample
illustration of this at the time and plscc
when it was spoken. 44.] See Matthew,
ver. 27 ;— but here the point of comparison
is different. There (see note) the sejml-
chres are whited, that men may not pass
over them unawares : and the wmpariMii
is to the outside fairness, and ms»««
abomination. Sere, the graves are *o*
seen, and men thinking they are walking
on clean ground are defiled by pawn*
over them. Perhaps the difference of ex-
pression may have been occasioned by ww
greater wealth and splendour and dispia)
of the Pharisees in the metro^°^^t
Matt, xxiii. was spoken. *vl i

man appears to have been not a common
Pharisee merely, but besides, a te^J
whose duty it especially was to mterpre
the law. Perhaps he found *»■■*£.
volved in the censure of ver. 42; or g*

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40—53.

ST. LUKE.

371

to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with*
one of your fingers. *? k Woe unto you, for ye build the k J£" xxm-
sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
*8 Truly ye * bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your
fathers : for they indeed killed them, and ye build [J their
sepulchres]. *9 Therefore also said the wisdom of God,
1 1 will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them iMatt.xxM.
they shall slay and persecute : M that the blood of all the
prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the
world, may be required of this generation; 61 "from themGen.ir.s.
blood of Abel unto n the blood of Zacharias, which perished » J£jTtn
between the altar and k the temple : * verily I say unto you,
It shall be required of this generation. 62 • Woe unto you, •}£|*-"M|-
lawyers, for ye m have taken away the key of knowledge : ye
entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in
ye hindered. 68 And *as he said these things unto them,
the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehe-
mently, and to provoke him to speak of many things :
* render, bear witness to, and.

J omitted by some of the most ancient authorities.
k literally, the house. * render, yea.

m render, took a way. a read, when he was gone out.

rally among the other Pharisees. 46.]

See on Matthew, ver. 4. 47.1 See

on Matthew, ty. 29—82. 48.J See

on Matthew, w. 34—36. We have

here a remarkable variation of expression
in ver. 49, the wisdom of God said is
expressed by "I" in Matthew. Various
explanations have been given of this. The
difficulty is not the variation just noticed,
so much as that no such passage exists in
the O. T. Bnt I have little doubt that
the true explanation is this : — the whole
saying is a reference to 2 Chron. xxiv.
18-— 22, and so marked a one, that I am
surprised that no Commentators but
OlBhausen and Stier should have observed
it, and they not thoroughly. That pas-
sage opens with remarks of the sacred
historian on the delinquency of Judah and
Jerusalem after the death of Jeboiada the
priest : then ver. 19, ' He tent prophets to
them, to bring them again to the Lord;
and they testified against them : but they
would not give ear. And the Spirit of
God earns upon Zeehariah the son of Je-
hoiada the priest, which stood above the
people, and said unto them .... And
they conspired against him, and stoned
him with stones at the commandment of
the king in the court of the house of the

Lord And when he died, he said,

The Lord look upon it, and require it.'
The words in our text are not indeed a
citation, but an amplification of ver. 19
there — a paraphrase of them, giving the
true sense of what the wisdom of God in.
tended by them ;— enlarging the mere his-
torical notice which laid hold of God's
purpose only by one thread let down to
the earth, into the divine revelation of the
whole purpose of God as the counsel of
His will in heaven. In Matthew, the Lord
Jesus Himself, as became the'solemnity of
that final and awful close of His testimony
to His own who received Him not, stands
forth as the doer of this work, the sender
of the Prophets and Apostles. (On ' son
of Barachias,' see on Matthew, ver. 85.)
69. ye took away the key of know-
ledge] " Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven
against men," Matthew, ver. 13, which words
are the best explanation of our text :— the
key of knowledge (i. e. not of, as admitting
to, knowledge — but the key is the know-
ledge), being that right understanding of
the Law and Prophets, which should shew
Him to the people, of whom they testified;
this the expounders of Scripture had
taken away, neither themselves entering,
nor permitting those to enter who were
B 3-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

872 ST. LUKE. XI. 54.

p Mark iii. u. 64 laying wait for him[°, and seeking] to p catch something
out of his mouth [•, that they might accuse him] .

'StakTiuu ^^' 1^n *^e mean time, when there were gathered
together P an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch
that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto

b Matt, xti.ii. his disciples first of all, b Beware ye of the leaven of the

"jftrtw.'a. Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2cFor there is nothing

ch. Tin. 17. covere(j^ that gnan not be revealed; neither hid, that shall

not be known. 3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in

darkness shall be heard in the light ; and that which ye

have spoken in the ear in * closets shall be proclaimed

di?i?.'7jJr. uP°n *ke housetops. * d And I say unto you e my friends,
l\».1Utt- Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that

6 is. XT' have no more that they can do. 5 But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear : Fear him, which after he hath
killed hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto you,
Fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings ?
and not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But even
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not
[r therefore] : ye are of more value than many sparrows.

f mSa1*'".*. 8 f " ^*° I **y un*° y°u> Whosoever shall confess me

i xSiulsBL before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before

the angels of God : 9 but he that t denieth me before men

»M*tt.x!i.n. shall be denied before the angels of God. 10And *who-

89. Mark ill. #° ..

JSe! John soever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall

0 omitted by some of the most ancient authorities,

P literally, the ten thousands of the multitude.

* render, the closers. r omitted by some ancient authorities.

■ render, But. * render, hath denied.

otherwise doing so, — and tjros shutting spirit of the discourse which He has jo*t

the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. completed, and cautions His disciples

Chap. XII. 1—18.] Waging against against that part of the character of the

HTFOCBIBY. A discourse Spoken imme- Pharisees which was most dangerous to

diately or very soon after the former, and them. The connexion of these twelre

in connexion with it ; — consisting for the .verses may be thus enunciated : — Beware

most part of savings repeated from other of hypocrisy (ver. l),/or all shall be mads

occasions, and found nearly verbatim in evident in the end (ver. 2), and ye ore

Matthew. It is impossible that there witnesses and sharers in this unfolding of

should be any reasonable doubt of this the truth (ver. 8). In this your work, ye

view, when we remember that some of need not fear men; for your lather has

them have appeared before, i or appear you in Sis keeping (w. 4— 7)— **** ***

again, in this very Gospel. While our confession of my name is a glorious thug

Lord was in the house of the Pharisee, the (ver. 8), but the rejection of it (ver. 9)t

multitudes appear to have assembled toge- and especially the ascription of my works

ther again. If so, in the mean time, or to the evil one (ver. 10), a fearful one.

during Wttioh things, will mean while And in this confession ye shall be help**

those related above were happening. by the Holy Spirit in the hour of need (rr.

He comes forth to them (ch. xi. 63) in the 11, 12). 4.] my friends: see John xv.

igitized by V^>0<

XII. 1—18.

ST. LUKE.

378

be forgiven him : but unto him that u blasphemeth against

the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven, u * And whe^SftSift,.

they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, ch xxl14*

and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye

shall answer, or what ye shall say : 12for the Holy Ghost

shall teach you T in the same hour what ye ought to say.

18 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak
to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, 'Man, who made me a judge or iEtod.ii.14.
a divider over you? 15And he said unto them, kTakekJkJln,Tl'.
heed, and beware of w covetousness : *for a man's life eon-
sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
18 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground
of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully : *7 and he
7 thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because
I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he

u render, hath blasphemed. ▼ render, at the time itself.

w read, all covetousness.

z render, for not, because a man hath abundance, doth his life
consist in the things which he possesseth.
T render, questioned.

13-15. 10.] See on Matt. xii. 31.

11, 18.] See on Matt. x. 19, 20.

18—81.] AXSWBB TO OKI WHO BOUGHT

A division op his inheritance. Pe-
culiar to Luke. 18.] The man was
evidently not a disciple, nor preparing
to be one, bnt some hearer in the crowd,
whose mind had been working in him
during our Lord's last sayings about the
care of Providence for His friends, and he
thought this was just the care his cir-
cumstances wanted'; being, as appears,
oppressed by his brother in the matter of
his patrimony. Possibly too he had an
idea that the Messias, or the great Rabbi
to whom he was listening, was come to set
all things right;— and with that feeling
which we all have of the surpassing in-
justice of our own wrongs, broke out with
this inopportune request. 14J Man . . .
a word of solemn reproof; see Bom. ii. 1 ;
ix. 20. The man also forms a definite sub-
ject for you to refer to, ... ' n\en* i. e.
mankind in general. This question Is ex-
pressed in almost the "very words of the
Egyptian rejecting the arbitration of
Moses, Exo<J. ii. 14;— and may shew us
the essential difference of the two offices of .
Moses and Christ. 10.1 them, i. e.
the multitude. He saw into the covetous-
ness of the man's disposition, and made it
*n instructive warning tot His -hearers.

all covetousness] There is a meaning
in all— every kind of covetousness. This
kind, of which they had an example before
them, was by no means one of the worst ;
but all kinds must be avoided. not,

because a man hath abundance, doth his
lift (therefore) consist in the things whioh
he possesseth. That is, no man's life con-
sists in what he possesses; ("man shall
not live by bread alone ") . . . nor by his
having abundance, can this be made to
be the ease. Man's life is of God, not of
his goods, however abundant they may be.
And this is the lesson conveyed by the
following parable, and lying at the founda-
tion of the still higher lesson conveyed
in ver. 21: ' The word life is used in
the pregnant sense, emphatically his life;
including time and eternity. This is self-
evident from the parable and its applica-
tion. 10.] Our Lord in this parable
sets before' us one arrived at the very
height of worldly prosperity, and that by
no unfair means ; but, as Augustine says,
*' not by removing landmarks, not by rob-
bing the poor, not by overreaching the
simple." It was by God's blessing that
he became thus rich, which might have
been a real blessing, if he had known bow
to use it. 17.] "The character of a
mind at ease without being at rest is
admirably expressed/' Bengel. I

Digitized by VjOOQIC

874

ST. LUKE.

XIL

said, This will I do : I will pull down my bams, and build

greater; and there will I bestow all * my fruits and my

lRcdM.^.o. goods. 19And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, thou hast

jaumst.s. * much goods \&i& up for many years; take thine ease, eat,

drink, and be merry. *° But God said unto him, Thou

"iSft *Vi. f°°^ *k*8 night m b thy soul shall be required of thee : D • lien

iirVu. jMD" whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided ?

bjS,"hV. 21 go is he that layeth up treasure for himself, °and is not

22 And he said unto his disciples,

o Matt. t1. SO.

iTi£vi. i*. rich toward God.

ILt*!T». r^eref°re I ^y un^° you* p d Take no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat ; neither for 6 the body, what ye shall
put on. 23 •• The life is more than *meat, and the body is
more than 9 raiment. ** Consider * the ravens : for they

1 render, my produce and my good things.

* render, many good things.

b render, they require thy soul of thee. ° render, and.

d render, Take not anxious thought. 6 render, your.

•• read, For the. * render, the meat.

9 render, the raiment. ft better, the ravens, that they.

have no room where to bestow my fruits]
"Thou hast bams— the bosoms of the
poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of
infants .... these are the barns which
will last for ever." Ambrose. 18.]

"His folly is fourfold : -he forgets the
Giver, ('my fruits, my goods,')— he greedily
reserves all for himself,— he imagines such
things to be food for his soul— he forgets
death, which is every day possible." Stier.
A very striking similarity is found in
EcclesiasticuB xi. 18, 19, "There is that
waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching,
and this is the portion of his reward : where-
as he saitb, I have found rest, and now will
eat continually of my goods : and yet he
knoweth not what time shall come upon
him, and that he must leave these things
to others, and die." Stier thinks this a
convincing proof that our Lord did occa-
sionally refer to the Apocrypha.
SO.] God said unto him, — perhaps it is
meant, by some unmistakeable judgment;
but more likely, as occurring in a parable,
the words are to be literally taken. By
supposing merely a divine decree to be
meant, without personal communication,
as .Grotius, Kuinoel, and Trench do, we
lose the impressive part of the parable,
where the man's selfishness and folly is
brought into immediate contact with the
solemn truth of his approaching death,
which certainly our Lord intends us to
contemplate. Thou fool, opposed to

bis worldly prudence /—this night, to the

many years; — the soul in the one case, at
its ease, eating, drinking, and making
merry, to the seul in the other, demanded,
rendered up, judged. . they require thy
soul] Not strictly equivalent to " Thy soul
shall be required," as A.V.; there are those
whose business it is, even the angels, the
ministers of the divine purposes : see ch,
vi. 38 and note. The merely impersonal
sense may be defended: but this saying
seems so solemn, as to reauire something
more. which thou nast provided;

or, madest ready; but not for thyself.
21.] Bo : so, in utter confusion, and
sudden destitution ef all help and provision
for eternity. for himself .... toward

God . . .] The meaning of these expres-
sions will be brought out thus : He who is
rich for himself, laying up treasure for
himself, is by so much robbing his real
inward life, his life in and toward Qod,
of its resources : he is laying up store for,
providing for, the flesh ; but the spirit,
that which God looketh into and searcheth,
is stripped of all its riches. These

words may also, as remarked on ch. vi. 20,
shew that St. Luke does not, as supposed
by some recent critics, use ' riches' as
merely this world's wealth, but with a
deeper spiritual meaning.

22 — 81.] Lessons of trust in Qod.
In the closest connexion with the prece-
ding ;— Therefore . . . since worldly riches
are of so little real use, &c. : see Matt. vi.
25-38, and notes. 24.] the ravens,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

19-35. ST. LUKE. 375

neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor

barn: and q6od feedeth them: how much more are ye«Jobxxxrm.

. J 41. P».

better than the fowls ? 25 And which of you with taking «mi.s.

thought can add to his i stature one cubit? 2* If ye

then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take

ye i thought for the rest ? 2? Consider the lilies how [k they

grow :] tt they toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say unto

you, that 1 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like

one of these. M If then God so clothe the grass, which is

.to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven ;

how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith ?

29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat or what ye shall

drink, neither be ye m of doubtful mind. 3° For all these

things do the nations of the world seek after : and your

Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But

[r a rather] seek ye ° the kingdom of God; and [P all] these materia.

things shall be added unto you. 82 Fear not, little flock ;

for "it is your Fatherfs good pleasure to give you the"*™*-*5-25.

kingdom. 33 * Sell that ye have, and give alms; "provide tMatj-ji^n.

yourselves ibags which wax not old, a treasure in the nSJ{:ri.jo.

heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, it&Vlm.

neither moth corrupteth. 8*For where your treasure is,

there will your heart be also. 35* Let your loins be'f&J};,1*;

* render, age. J render, anxious thought,

fc omitted by same ancient authorities : probably inserted from Matt. vi. 28.
tt read, they spin not, they weave not.

1 render, even Solomon, as in Matt. vi. 29. m render, in suspense.

n omit : not in the original. ° read, his kingdom.

P omit. ^ render, purses, as in ch. x. 4 : xxii. 35, 36.

who are elsewhere spoken of in Scripture 1 ff.), and them (as in Isa. xli. 10 — 14) as
as the ohjects of the divine care : see Joh a weak and despised people. 83.]
xxxviii. 41, Ps. cxlvii. 9. 26.] that Meyer endeavours to evade the force of
thing which is least: this shews the troth this, by supposing it addressed only to
of the interpretation age (not "stature") the Apostles and then existing disciples,
given in the note on Matthew. A cubit But it is said to the little flock, who are
would not be the least of things to all the elect pcopl* of God. Sell that
add to the stature, but a very large in- ye nave, Ac.] this is the true way of in-
crease : whereas, as Trench observes, " a vesting worldly wealth : — ' He that giveth
cubit would be infinitesimallv small when to the poor, lendeth to the Lord.' See on
compared to his length of life, that life Matt. vi. 19—21.

being contemplated as a course, or race, 30*— 48.] Exhortations to watch-
which he may attempt, but ineffectually, bulkess. The attitude and employment
to prolong." 32—34.] Our Lord of the little flock is carried on, even to
gives to his own disciples an assurance of their duty of continual readiness for their
the Father's favour as a ground for re- Lord's coming. These verses are con-
moving aU fear from them, and shews nected with ver. 32— 'since your Father
them the true riches, and how to seek hath seen fit to give you the Kingdom, be
them. 32. little flock] Thus He sets that kingdom, and preparation for it, your
himself forth as their Shepherd (John x. chief care/ There are continual points of

Digitized by VjOOQIC

376

ST. LUKE.

XII.

y«jtt-a».i. girded about, and * your lights burning; ^and ye your-
selves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he
will return from the wedding; that when he cometh.
and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

«Matt.xx»Y. 37 * Blessed are those servants, whom TlAe lord when he
cometh shall find watching : verily I say unto you, that he
shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat,
and will come forth and serve them. S8And if he shall
come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and

■JS^Thi. ^n^ them so, blessed are ■ those servants. SJ>BAnd this
jjj.Vl&T. know, that if the t goodman of the house had known what
hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and
not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 b Be-
LJVS ye [tt there/ore] ready also : for the Son of man cometh at an

r better render, their lord. ■ tome of the most ancient authorities read, they.

IIL I: xvi.
15.
b Matt. xxiv.
44: XXT.1S.
Mark xlll.W.
ch.xxl. 84,8ft.
1 Them. "
J Pet

master.

tt omit.

similarity, in this part of the discourse, to
Matt. xxiv. 42 ff., bat no more : and the
close connexion quite forbids us to imagine
that the sayings nave been collected merely
by the Evangelist. 85.] There is a

alight reference to, or rather another pre-
sentation of the truth set forth in, the
parable of the' virgins, Matt. xxv. I ff.
But the image here is of servants waiting
for their lord to return from the wedding ;
— left at .Jioine, and bound to be in readi-
ness to receive him. There is only a hint
at the cause of his absence — He is gone to
a wedding : the word used may mean
almost any feast or entertainment — and
the main thought here only is that He is
away at a feast, and will return. But in
the background lies the wedding in all its
truth — not brought out here, but else-
where, Matt. xxii. 1 ff. ; xxv. 1 ff.
Let your loins be girded] See John xiii.
4. your lights] See note on Matt.

xxv. 1. 86.] ye yourselves, i. e. your

whole conduct and demeanour.' 87.]

See Rev. iii. 20, 21, where the 'same simili-
tude is presented, and the promise carried
on yet further, — to the sharing of his
Throne. The Lord Himself, in that great
day of his glory,-— the marriage-supper of
the Lamb,— will invert the order of human
requirements (see ch. xvii. 8), and in the
fulness of his grace and love will serve his
brethren :— the Redeemer, his redeemed, —
the Shepherd, his flock. come forth]

more probably is the allusion to His coming
in turn to each. Compare the washing of
the disciples' feet in John xiii. 1 ff., which
was a foreshewing of this last great act of

self-abasing love. 88.] Olshanaen ob-

serves that the first watch is not named,
because the marriage itself falls on it : but
his view that because the fourth is not
named, our Lord follows the ancient custom
of the Jews and divides the night into
three watches, is probably incorrect : it is
more likely (Meyer) that the fourth is not
named, because tbe return was not likely
to be so long delayed ;— for the decorum of
the parable. 89.] I am surprised that
it should have been imagined that this
verse has been inserted so as to break- the
connexion, and by a later hand. Nothing
can be more exact and rigid than the con-
nexion as it now stands. Our Lord trans-
fers, to shew the unexpected nature of his
coming, and the necessity of watchfulness,
the relation between Himself and the ser-
vants, to that between the thief and the
master of the house. For the purposes of
this verse, they represent the master of the
house — collectively, as put in charge with
the Lord's house and household (thus the
verse is intimately connected with ver. 42) :
— and in the further application, indivi-
dually— each as the householder of his
own trust, to be kept with watchfulness
agairist that day : — He is represented by
the thief— Rev. xvi.- 16; iii. «.
Olshausen's view, that the master of the
house is the "prince of this world,9* is
surely quite out of keeping with the main
features of the parable. That he should
be put in the place of tbe watching ser-
vants seems impossible: 'besides that the
nithfulltftward below is tbis'very "master
of the house," .heingsnch. in the absence of

Digitized by VjOOQIC

86—48.

ST. LUKE.

377

hour when ye think not. 41Then Peter said unto him,

Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or u even to all ?

*» And the Loril said, e Who then is ™that faithful and wise •8f£»&

steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his house- 10or-iT-*

hold, to give them their portion of meat in due season ?

43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he eometh

shall find so doing. ** d Of a truth I say unto you, that he 4gftxxiT*

will make him ruler over all that he hath. ** But [T and]

if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his

coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and

maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken ; ** the

lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh

not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and

will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion

with the unbelievers. *^And fthat servant, which knew * Num. it. m.

... Deut.x*r.«.

his lord's will, and prepared not \y himself], neither did JjJm^aS;
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. jI^it.u.
48 * But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy w ***-*- v.
of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto ,Tlml-,a-

* render, also. ttn read, that faithful, that wise.

v not expressed in the original. w omit : see note.

his Lord, but the steward when He ap-
pears. 41.] this parable ; not, the two
last verses, hut the whole : — ' Who are they
that are thus to wait and, watch, and to be
thus honoured at the Lord's coming?'
This question coming in so suddenly and
unconnectedly and remaining apparently
unanswered, is among the many proofs of
the originality and historic reality of this
discourse. 49 ff.1 Our Lord does not
answer the question directly, hut proceeds
with His discourse, so as to furnish it with
an answer ; — viz. that in its highest sense
it applies to bis Apostles and ministers,
inasmuch as to them most has been given
as the stewards — but that its application
is gradationally downwards through all
those who know their Master's will, even
to the lowest, whose measure both of re-
sponsibility and of reward is more limited.
For the comment on vv. 42 — 46 see on
Matt. xxiv. 46—51. Notice that unbe-
lievers here is "hypocrites "in Matthew.
47, 48.] Primarily, in reference to the
question in ver. 41. Those which knew
represent us, the disciples : those that
knew not represent all, the multitude : —
but the application is not limited to this :
the truth is one of universal extent,
prepared not— we must not supply, "him-
self," as A. V., but matters, according to

his will : "prepared," almost in the abso-
lute sense of 'making ready:' — it refers
back to the " be ye ready" of ver. 40;
this readiness being not only preparing
himself, but the matters over which he
has charge, ver. 35. There is reference to
Dent xxv. 2. Bnt he that knew

not] The case is of one (a disciple in the
first reference, but then generally of all
men) who bona fide is ignorant of his
Lord's will. That such persons shall be
punished, is both the sentence of the law,
see Levit. v. 17—19, and an inference from
the truth set forth ver. 57, and Rom. i.
19, 20, 82; ii. 14, 15,— that the natural
conscience would have prevented the not
doing. (Observe that the two classes, not
included here, are " he that knew and did,"
and " he that knew not and did," as far as
that can be said [see Rom. ii. 14] ;— the
reference here being only to the aid not
in both cases, or rather to the " did not "
in the first case and its equivalent " did
things worthy of stripes " in the second.)
But the difficulty seems to be to assign
a spiritual meaning to the words, shall be
beaten with few stripes. That such will
be the case, would £ priori be consonant
to the justice of the Judge of all the earth :
and we have it here declared, that it shall
be so : but how, is not revealed to us. It

Digitized by VjOOQIC

378

ST. LUKE.

XII.

whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much re-
quired : and to whom men have committed much,, of him
they will ask [x the] more.

40 h I y am come to send fire on the earth ; and ■ what will
I, if it be already kindled ? 50 But * I have a baptism to be
baptized with ; and how am I straitened till it be accom-
plished ! 61 k Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on

z omit, J render, Came.

1 render, what will I ? would that it were already kindled I See note.

h Ter. 51.

i Mitt. xx. H.
JUrkx.K.

k Matt. x. 94.
tot. 40.

is in vain for the sinner to encourage him-
self in sin'from such a declaration as this :
for the very knowledge of the declaration
excludes him from the exemption. " Our
ears have heard the voice divine; We
cannot he as they." (Christian Year.)

much is given shall be much

required] The second much is not the
much that has been given, bat a propor-
tionable amount of result of diligence, a
muoh which he is to render. more]

perhaps, more than from others: but
more likely more than had been deposited
with him, viz. that, and the interest
of it;— see Matt. xxv. 15 ff.
49—58.] The connexion appears to be
this: — the immense and awful difference
between the faithful and unfaithful ser-
vants brings our Lord to the ground of
that difference, and its necessary develop-
ment in the progress of His kingdom on
earth. 49. fire] It is extraordinary

that the official announcement of the Bap-
tist (ch. iii. 16)—" He shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire" — con-
nected with the mention of a baptism here,
— with the promise Acts i. 5, and the ap-
pearance Acts ii. 8, so strikingly expressed
as " cloven {divided, the very same word
in the original) tongues as of fire " — have
not kept the Commentators in general
(Bleek is an exception) from falling into
the blunder of imagining here that the
fire is synonymous with, and means no
more than, the discord and division which
follow. The fire is, the gift of the Holy
Spirit, — the great crowning result of the
sufferings and triumph of the Lord Jesus.
To follow this out in all its references
belongs to another place :— see notes on
Mark ix. 49, and Acts ii. 8. This fire, in
its purifying and separating effects on the
mass of mankind, causes the division
afterwards spoken of. The construc-

tion of the latter words in this verse has
been ever a matter of dispute, while the
meaning is on all hands nearly agreed. The
three prevalent explanations of it are : (1)
That adopted in the margin, which is ap-

parently Origen's, And what will I f
would that it were already kindled !
This abrupt ejaculation might seem unlike
the usual character of our Lord's discourses :
but we have a similar question in John xiL
27, and under corresponding circumstances,
of His soul being troubled. (2) And how
I wish that it were already kindled! To
this, which is adopted by Theophylact, and
some distinguished moderns, the chief ob-
jection is, that the words of the original
will not bear it: see in my Greek Test.
(8) That of Euthymius, Beza, and the
A. V., What will I, if it be already
kindled 1 i. e. M What more do I await in
the world, seeing that itt is already kin*
died ? " But this presents a great difficulty
as regards the context ; for, by ver. 50, it
evidently was not kindled: and even if
this were overcome, the expression, evi-
dently a deep one of personal anxiety
(and be it remembered who said it), would
be vapid and unmeaning in the extreme.
All things then being considered, I prefer
the first explanation. 60.] The sym-

bolic nature of Baptism is here to be borne
in mind. Baptism is equivalent to Death,
The figure in tne Sacrament is the drowning,
— the burial, in the water, of the old man
and the resurrection of the new man : see
1 Pet. iii. 20—22, and notes. The Lord's
Baptism was His death, in which the
Body inherited from the first Adam was
buried, and the new Body raised again:
see Bom. vi. 1 — 11, but especially ver. 10.
And He was straitened (the best possible
rendering) till this was accomplished: —
i. e. in anxiety and trouble of spirit.
The but here implies but first, J. e- before
that fire can be shed abroad. Here we
have then, as Stier expresses it, a " begin-
ning of the passion " of our Lord ; the
first utterance of that deep anguish, which
afterwards broke forth so plentifiillv, —
but coupled at the same time with holy
zeal for the great work to be accomplished.
51—53.1 The work of this fire, as
it burns onward in the world, will not
be peace, but division; see Mai. iiL 2, 8,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

49—58.

ST. LUKE.

379

earth? I tell you, Nay; lbut rather division: *2mfor » »«*;»- «-s
from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided; tJilit. i «?:
a three against two, and two against three ; 63 [° the']
father \}> shall be divided] against \} the] son, and \}>the]
son against ^ the] father; \}the] mother against the
daughter, and [b the] daughter against the mother; [*> the]
mother in law against her daughter in law, and \}the
daughter in law against *her mother in law. MAnd he
said also to the people, n When ye see d a cloud rise out of »v>tt.xTU
the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower ; and
so it is. 6fi And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say*
There will be heat ; and it cometh to pass. 6fl Ye hypo-
crites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth ;
but how is it that ye dd do not discern this time ? *7 Yea,
and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right ?
58 o e When thou goest with thine adversary to the magis- oMatt.r.ss.
trate, Pas thou art in the way, give diligence that thou p J6 {£""«!•
mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the

* render, three shall be divided. b omit.

• render, the : or perhaps omit. * some ancient authorities read, the.
dd or, know not how to discern. The ancient MSS. are divided.

e render, For when.

18 ; iv. 1, where we have the separating
effect of this fire in its completion at the
great day: see also Matt. iii. 12.
On the passage itself, see notes on Matt.
x. 35, 36.

54 — 69.] Reproaches fob blindness
to the signs op the times. The con-
nexion of this with the foregoing is na-
tural and close. From henceforth (ver.
52), the distinction shall begin to he
made;— the discord and division between
those who discern this time (ver. 56) and
those who do not. Our Lord then turns
to the crowd (also. He not only said to
the disciples the foregoing, but also to the
crowd the following), and reproaches them
(1) for their blindness, in not being able
to discern it, as they did the signs in the
natural heavens ; and (2) for their want of
prudence (vv. 57 — 59), in not repenting
and becoming reconciled to the law of God
while yet there was time. 54.] There .

is a somewhat similar saying of our Lord
at Matt. zvi. 2 ff., but differing both in its
occasion and its substance. the cloud,

— that usually rises there; see 1 Kings
xviii. 44. The west, in Judaea, would be
the direction of the sea. 56.] the

face of the earth— perhaps referring to
other signs of rain or heat from the ap-
pearance of the hills, Ac. this

time] The signs of this time were very
plain; — the sceptre had departed from
Judah; — the general expectation of the
coming of the Messiah is testified even by
profane authors;— the prophets had all
spoken of Him, and the greatest of them,
the Baptist, had announced His arrival.
57.1 In what follows, our Lord
takes occasion from the request about the
inheritance, which had begun this dis-
course, to pass to infinitely more solemn
matters. There is, I think, no denying
that the "judging what is right " and the
"thine adversary" have a .reference to
that request, in the ability and duty of
every man to 'judge what is right :' — but
the sense of the words far outruns that re-
ference, and treats of loftier things. * Why
do ye not discern of yourselves your true
state — that which is just — the justice of
your case as before God ? Ton are going
(the course of your life is the journey)
with your adversary (the just and holy
law of God) before the magistrate (God
Himself) ; therefore by the way take pains
to be delivered from Him (by repentance,
and faith in the Son of God, see Ps. ii. 12),
lest he drag thee to the judge (who ad-
judges the case and inflicts the fine ; that
is, the Son to whom all judgment is com-
mitted), and the judge deliver thee to the

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380

ST. LUKE.

XII. 59.

judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the
officer cast thee into prison. 60 1 tell thee, thou shalt not
depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

XIII. 1 f There were present at that season same that told
him of the Oalibeans, whose blood Pilate [* had] mingled
with their sacrifices. 2 And ffff Jesus answering said unto
them, Suppose ye that these Galilseans were sinners above
all the Galileans, because they * suffered ** gUch things ? 3 1
tell you, Nay : but, except ye repent, ye shall all * likewise
perish, *Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in
Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were
J sinners above all JJ men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? 6 1 tell
you, Nay : but, except ye repent, ye shall all i likewise
alSki['ii.w.JD^r**^* 6 He spake also this parable; * A certain man had

* render, There came some at that season, telling him.

8 omit. W read, He. * render, have suffered. ** or, these.

* render, perish in like manner. i literally, debtors. JJ ready the men.

exactor (see Matt. xiii. 41), and the ex-
actor cast thee into prison9 (ditto, ver.
42). 69.] See on Matt. v. 25, and, on

the word mite, Mark xii. 42.

Chap. XIII. 1—9.] Answer to INTEL-
LIGENCE OF THB MTTRDKBBD GaLIUEANB,

ajstd pabablb thbeeupon. Peculiar to
Luke. 1.] The words at that Maion

may mean at that very time— viz. as He
finished the foregoing discourse : but it
is not necessary to interpret thus ; — for,
Matt. xii. 1 ; xiv. 1, the similar expression
is certainly indefinite. The opening

words do not mean, as A. V., that these
persons were in the crowd, and remarked
to the Lord concerning these OaUUsans,
in consequence of what He had said ch. xii.
57 :— such a finding of connexion is too
fine-drawn. It is obvious that no con-
nexion is intended between this incident
and the foregoing discourse. the

Galilssans] The historical fact is other-
wise unknown. The way of speaking here
shews that it was well known to the writer.
It must have occurred at some feast* in
Jerusalem, on which occasions riots often
took place, and in the outer court of the
temple. Such slaughters were frequent,
and would not be particularly recorded by
the historians. This mingling of their blood
with their sacrifices seems to have been
thought by the narrators evidence that
they were very depraved sinners : for this
was their argument, and is unconsciously
that of many at this day, — 'the worse
the affliction, the more deserved :' see
Gen. xlii. 21 : Acts xxviii. 4. *.] Our

Lord perceives this to be their reasoning

—they did not express it, as is plain by
the suppose ye ... . He does not deny
that all the Galilssans were sinners, and de-
served God's judgments, but that these were
pre-eminently so. 8. in like manner]

The force of this is lost in the A. V., ' like-
wise.' It is strictly in like manner, as
indeed the Jewish people did perish by
the sword of the Romans. 4, 5.] Our

Lord introduces this incident as shewing
that whether the hand of man or ^so-called)
accidents, lead to inflictions of this kind, it
is in fact but one Hand which doeth it all —
Amos iii. 6. There is also a transference
from the Galilseans— a despised people — to
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on whom the
fulness of God's wrath was to be poured out
in case of impenitence. Of the incident it-
self, or of the tower in Siloam (the word here
meaning probably the district in which the
fountain, John ix. 7, was situated, — though
on the whole matter, and the situation of
the fountain itself, there is considerable
uncertainty), we know nothing. See also
Neh. iii. 15. debtors, i. e. sinners, —

see Matt, vi.12;— perhaps the same thought
may be traced as pervading the saying, as
in vv. 58, 59, of the last chapter. No such
idea as that the tower was a prison for
debtors is for a moment to be thought of.
See on in like manner above ;— here,
the similarity will be — in the ruin of your
whole city i This does not render it neces-
sary that these words should have been
spoken to actual dwellers in Jerusalem:
for nearly the whole nation was assembled
there at the time of the siege.
6—9.] This Parable has perhaps been in-
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XIII. 1—9.

ST. LUKE.

381

a fig tree planted in his vineyard ; and he came and sought
fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the
dresser of the vineyard, Behold, these three years I come
seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none : cut it down ;
k why cumbereth it the ground ? 8 And he answering said
unto him, 1 Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig
about it, and dung- it : 9 and if it m bear fruit, [n welt] :
0 and if not, [P then after tha{\ thou shalt cut it down.

k render, why moreover. * better, perhaps, Sir.

m read, bear fruit hereafter. n not expressed in the original.

0 read, but. P omit.

terpreted with hardly enough reference
to its own peculiar context,* or to the
symbolic language of Scripture in other
places. Ordinarily the owner of the vine-
yard is explained to be the Sternal
lather: the dresser and intercessor, the
Son of Ood : the fig-tree, the whole Jewish
people: the vineyard, the world. But it
may be objected to this, that the owner
comes to seek the fruit, which can be pro-
perly said only of Him who " came unto
His own'* — who is even* in Matthew " the
heir"— and by implication there, the pos-
sessor of the vineyard "when he shall
come " (for that destruction He universally
represents as His coming). The other
objections will come out in the direct
exposition of the Parable, which I take to
be this:— The link which binds it to the
foregoing is Except ye repent . . . ; and it
is addressed rather to individuals than to
the whole nation — though of course to the
whole nation as made up of individuals.
The vineyard is not the world, which would
be wholly inconsistent with Scripture sym-
bolism (for Matt. xiii. 24 the comparison
is to "the kingdom of heaven " — the
Gospel dispensation, in which the field —
not the vineyard— is the whole world);
but, as in Isa. v. 7, the house of Israel and
the men ofJudah (see notes on Matt. xxi.
33 ff.). The fig-tree planted in the vine-
yard— among the vines— (a usual thing)
denotes an individual application, fixing
each man's thought upon one tree — and
that one, himself; just as the guest with-
out the wedding-garment in Matt. xxii.
He who had the tree planted in His vine-
yard (—'All things that, the Father hath,
are Mine' — John xvi. 15), came seeking
fruit, and found it not : see Matt. xxi. 19
and note. (The vine-dresser, see below.)
He commands it to be cut down, as
encumbering the soil (exhausting it,
rendering it inactive); three years has
He been coming and seeking fruit in this
tree, and he findeth none. Then, at the
intercession of the vine-dresser, He consents

(for this is implied) to spare it this year
also, until it has been manured ; if that
fail, the Intercessor himself has no more
plea to urge — it is to be cut down.
Now who u this Intercessor 1 First look
at the matter of fact. Who were the vine-
dressers of God's vineyard? They were
many. Moses, the Prophets, the Baptist,
the Lord Himself, the Apostles and Teach-
ers after Him. But what one Personality
might be set forth as pervading all these,
' striving with man ' in them all— as being
the vine-dresser ? Clearly it seems to me,
the Holy Spirit of Ood. In the passage
just alluded to, Gen. vi. 8, we can hardly
but recognize the main features of our
present parable ; especially when the days
of Noah are compared by the Lord Himself
to His own coming to vengeance. The in-
tercessory office of the Spirit (" the Advo-
cate," see on John xiv. 16), pleading with
man and for man, and resigning that
blessed conflict when met with inveterate
obduracy, is often set before us in Scrip-
ture. See the whole history of Saul ; Zech.
vii. 12-14: Prov. i. 23—32: Isa. lxiii.
10 : Neh. ix. 20 : Rom. viii. 26, 27.
7. three yean] I have little doubt that
an allusion is intended to the three years
of our Lord's ministry. The objection to
this, that the cutting down ought then to
have taken place at the end of this year,
does not apply ; for all is left indefinite in
the request and the implied answer. In
the individual application, many thousands
did bear fruit this very year; and of those
who did not, who shall say when the Spirit
ceased pleading with them, and the final
sentence went forth ? why moreover

cumbereth it the ground 1] i. e. Why, be-
sides bearing no fruit, is it impoverish-
ing the soil— rendering the neighbouring
ground useless ? 8.] i. e. till I dig

holes about the root, and east in manure,
as is done to orange-trees in the south of
Italy, and to hops in England. 9.1

After fruit there is a breaking off, and
woll is to be supplied: but not without

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ST. LUKE.

XIII.

w And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the

' sabbath. n And, behold, [PP there was] a woman which had a

spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together,

and * could in no wise lift up herself. ]2 And when Jesus

saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman,

bA3?iri>18' *k°u art loosed from thine infirmity. 1S b And he laid his
hands on her: and immediately she \?as made straight,
and glorified God. 14» And the ruler of the synagogue
answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed

eixod.M.9. on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, ° There are
six days in which men ought to work : in them therefore

d Matt. hi. 10. come and be healed, and dnot on the sabbath day. 16 The
xw.v8.*7' Lord then answered him, and said, r Thou hypocrite, edoth

ech.xir.5. no^ eQX^ one 0f y0U on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass
from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16 And

PP not expressed in the correct text.

1 render, could not lift herself upright : see note.

T read, Ye hypocrites.

reason : to fill tip the sentence did not be*
long to the purpose of this parable.

hereafter] This word belongs to
bear fruit, not as in A. V., to the latter
clause of the verse. We must remember,
that as regards the Jews in the collec-
tive sense, the sentence lingered 40 years.
Thou ihalt out it down— not, "I
will cut it down ;" and I find in this an
additional proof of the correctness of the
foregoing interpretation. It is the " lord
of the vineyard" who "when He cometh,
shall wretchedly destroy those wretches.*9
All judgment is committed to thb Son : —
it is not the work of the Holy Spirit to
cut down and destroy, for He is the Giver
of life. The above interpretation is

partially given by Stier, who has however
in my view quite missed the vine-dresser,
understanding by him the husbandmen in
Matt, xxi., forgetting that they are de-
stroyed in the sequel of that parable, and
that their position, that of the tenants of
the vineyard, does not appear at all in
this, any more than does the vine-dresser
in that.

10—81.] Hbalino op a woman on
thb Sabbath: discourse thbbeupon.
Peculiar to Luke, except the parables,
which are in Matt. xiii. 31 — 88 ; Mark iv. .
81—84. 10.] Time and place alike

indefinite. 11. a spirit of infirmity]

Her weakness was the effect of permitted
power of the evil one (ver. 16) ; but whe-
ther we are to find here a direct instance
of possession, seems very doubt Ail. There
is nothing in our Lord's words addressed

to her, to imply it : and in such cases He
did not lay on His hands, or touch, — but
only in oases of sickness or bodily infirmity.
The A. V. has here mistaken the
position of the word which it renders " in
no wise." It means altogether, and be-
longs to the verb lift herself. 12.]
There is no reason to suppose any eminence
of faith in her — though we may fairly
conclude that she was there with some «**-
pectation of a cure : see ver. 14.
thou art loosed, expresses the setting free
of her muscles from the t power which
bound them down, — and then, ver. 13, the
laying on of the divine hands confers upon
her strength to rise and -stand upright.
It would be, in such a case, one thing to
be loosed from the stiffening of years, —
and another to have strength at once con-
ferred to stand upright. 14.] The
ruler speaks not either to Jesus or to the
woman ; but covertly and cowardly, to the
multitude. Stier notices the self-stulti-
fication of this speech, in making '* to be
healed," — which is in fact a reception of
divine grace and help, a species of " work-
ing." 15. Te hypocrites] The Lord
saw the real thoughts of his heart, that
they were false, and inconsistent with his
pretended zeal, and addressed the multitude
as represented by him, their leader. A
man hardly could give forth a doctrine so at
variance with common sense and common

rstice, without some by-end, with which
covered his violation of truth. That
by-end here was enmity to and jealousy of
Jesus. The instance chosen exactly JUs

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40—24. ST. LUKE. 883

ought not this woman, f being a daughter of Abraham, fchxi*»-

whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, %be

loosed from this bond on the sabbath day ? *7 And t when

he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed :

and all the ^people rejoiced for all the glorious things that

were done by him. w *▼ Then said he, Unto what is the f 5^ w!1^*

kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took,

and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a

[ w great] tree ; and the fowls of the air lodged in the

branches of it. 20 And again he said, 'Whereunto shall I

liken the kingdom of God ? 21 It is like leaven, which a

woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the

whole was leavened.

23 h And he went through the cities and villages, *£&&£•
teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ^ Then said
one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved ? And
he said unto them*, ** l Strive to enter in at *the strait iM«tt.Tii.is.

■ render, to be.

* render, while he was saying, or, on his saying, . . .

u render, multitude. T render, Thereupon.

w omitted by several most ancient authorities, but perhaps because it does not
occur in Malt, xiii. 32.

x read and render, the narrow door.

the circumstances. A beast tied to the dicated in ver. 17. The rendering there-
manger is confined down as this poor upon is important, as pointing ont the con-
woman was. 10.] The contrast is nexion.

strongly drawn— between a dumb animal, 22—30.] Answeb to the question

and (not merely a human creature, but) a as to the numbeb who shall be

daughter of Abraham — one of the chosen bated. Onr Lord repeats, occasion being

people (I cannot see any necessity for a given by a question peculiar to Luke, parts

spiritual daughtership [Gal. iii. 7] being of His discourses spoken elsewhere, as re-

here implied),— between a few hours, since ferred to below. 22.] This notice in-

the last watering, and * lo these eighteen eludes what follows in the cycle of this last

gears' (compare ver. 7, "Behold these journey, but disclaims any definiteness of

three gears "... .). 17.] So far am place or time for it. But certainly it

I from thinking a description of this kind seems to follow in natural order after our

to be a mere general close, put in by the Lord's solemn warnings to repentance at

Evangelist, that I would take it as an ac- the beginning of this chapter. The

' curate and graphic account of the imme- enquirer can hardly have been a disciple of

diate effect of our Lord's power and irre- Jesus (see ver. 28), but most likely a Jew

sistible words, and the following parables from the multitude, who had beard his

as spoken immediately thereupon, shewing discourses, and either from Jewish pride,

the people the ultimate conquest which the or perhaps out of real desire to learn from

Kingdom of God should obtain over all op- Him, put this question. 28.] On the

position, however strong. On the parables word rendered that be tared, see note,

themselves, see on Matt. xiii. 31 — 38. Acts ii. 47. Here, the implication of final

18—21.] These two parables, found in salvation is obvious. unto them, i.c.

Matthew as above, and the former of them the multitude. Similar sayings have oc-

in Mark iv. 30—32, seem to have been curred in the Sermon on the Mount, but

again spoken by our Lord at this time, in the connexion here is intimate and strict,

reference to the progress of His Gospel in- 24.] See on Matt. vii. 18. The de-

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S84

ST. LUKE.

XIII.

kmmMknjVLgafo; for k many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in,
ffif "^ and shall not be able. M y ! When once the master of the

IP*. uxli.«.

u^w.i.' house is risen up, and mhath shut to the door, and ye

i Mall. txt. * * _ _ _ _

mlUtt.xxY.
10.

begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying:,

BOH.TL40. nLord, \?Lord^ open unto us; and he shall answer and

oMjjtjti-»i gay unto you, °I know you not whence ye are: ** then

shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy

pm^thjb: presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. *7 ap But

*• * he shall say, I tell you, I know [° you] not whence ye are ;

* Sitt'MT 41 q depart from me, all ye • workers of iniquity. w d r There

**ltu?x&\ shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, "when ye shall

• luttTiiLu. see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,

in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves e thrust out.

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west,

and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit

"«?■ **** down in the kingdom of God. 3° * And, behold, there are

f render, From the time when.

* omitted by several ancient authorities. Perhaps U was inserted from Matt.
xxv. 11.

* render, And. b omit. • render, workmen.

* render, There shall there be. The first "There " is local,—" in that place."
0 render, being thrust.

■criptiou of the broad and narrow ways if
not here inserted, as probably by this time,
the narrow door (or gate was a familiar
image. In what follows we most not

understand, ' shall seek to enter by it, and
shall not be able:'— the emphasis of the
command is, seek to tutor at the narrow
door : for many shall took to enter (else-
where), and shall not be able. After
enter is to be supplied, in both places, into
salvation, or into the Kingdom of God.

25.] A reason why this strive is so
important:— because there will be a day
when the gate will be shut. The figure is
the usual one, — of a feast, at which the
householder entertains (in this case) the
members of his family. These being as-
sembled, he rises and shuts the door, and
none are afterwards admitted. 'The

from the time when extends to the end of
ver. 25,— and the second member of the
sentence begins with Then shall ye begin
Ac. to say The door is shut, ye begin to
Stand without and knock. On the spiri-
tual import, see note on Matt. xxv. 11.

I know yon not whence ye are:
i. e. ' Ye are none of my family — have no
relationship with me.' 26. We have

eaten and drunk in thy presence] As
applied to the then assembled crowd, these
words refer to the miracles of feeding,—

perhaps also to His having so often sat
at meat in the houses of various persons
(the drinking must not be pressed as
meaning any thing different from the
eating: — the expression is a general one
for taking a meal); as applied to Chris-
tians, to the eating and drinking whereof
those miracles were anticipatory. Both
these are merely in His presence ; — very
different from the drinking "with you"
of which He speaks Matt. xxvi. 29, and
from "I will sup with him and he with
me," Rev. iii. 20. thou halt taught

in our streets] Applicable directly to those
to whom the words were spoken ; and fur-
ther, in its fuller sense, to all among whom
the Gospel is preached, even till the end.
27. workmen of iniquity] This un-
usual expression seems to mean, persons
engaged m the hire and receiving the wages
of unrighteousness: — see Matt. vii. 2%
where "ye that work lawlessness" (so
literally) answers to it. 28, 29.] See

Matt. viii. 11, 12, and notes. The

verses occur here in a different connexion :
• Ye Jews, who neglect the earnest endea-
vour to enter now, shall weep and gnash
your teeth when ye see all tike saints, Jews
and Gentiles, in the Kingdom of God, and
yourselves excluded' (see ch. xvi. 23).
In these two vexeea is the real answer to

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25—88.

ST. LUKE.

385

last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be
laet.

31 ' The same day there came certain of the Pharisees,
saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for
Herod % will kill thee. 3* And he said unto them, Go ye,
and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures
to day and to morrow, and the third day I u * shall be per- uH.b.n.io.
fected. 83 Nevertheless I must * walk to day, and to

' read and render, In that hour.

* render, am.

the question of ver. 28 given : — ' they shall
be many— but what is that to von, if you
be not among them 7' 80.] A* the

words here stand — somewhat different from
those in Matt xx. 16— tbey seem to be
a prophetic declaration of what shall be
in the course of the ingathering of these
guests; — viz. that some who were the
first, or among the first to believe, shall
fall from their high place, and vice versA.
This former has, as Stier notices, been
remarkably the case with the Oriental
Churches, which were the first founded
and flourishing : — and, we may add, with
the mother church of Jerusalem, which
has declined, while her Gentile offsets have
flourished.

81—86.] Wabnino or Hebod's en-
mity; ottb Lobd's bbplt. Peculiar to
Luke : — the apostrophe in w. 34, 85 was
spoken by our Lord also on another occa-
sion, Matt. xxiiL 37—89. 81.] In
that hour is not necessarily definite.
These Pharisees appear to have been sent
by Herod for the purpose of getting rid of
Jesus out of bis jurisdiction. Considering
his character, it is hardly possible that he
should really have wished to kill one who
woe eo popular; — he refused to do so
when Jesus was in his power afterwards
in Jerusalem; — but, as great multitudes
were now following Him about, and super-
stitious fears, as we know, agitated Herod,
he wished to he quit of Him, and took
this means of doing so. I think this view
is necessary to justify the epithet applied
to Herod, which certainly implies cunning
on hie part. Stier thinks the Pharisees
invented the tale about Herod : but then
how can the epithet applied to him be
explained? I cannot for a moment be-
lieve, as he does, that our Lord saw through
the lie of the Pharisees, and yet adopted
it, meaning the fox to signify themselves.
"That Jesus in a public discourse uses
such an expression of the ruler of his coun-
try, is not to be judged of by the manners,
and ways of speech, of oor times. The
Vol. I.

ff render, is minded to.
* render, journey.

free-spokenness of the ancient world, which
we meet with especially in the Hebrew
prophets, allowed such strong expressions,
without any thing peculiarly offensive being
found in them." Bleek. 88, 88.] The

interpretation of this answer is difficult,
for two reasons— (1) that the signification
of the to day, to morrow, and the third
day is doubtful— (2) that the meaning of
I am perfected is also doubtful. The

days mentioned are ordinarily supposed to
be proverbially used ; to day, for his pre-
sent working — to morrow, for that be-
tween the present time and his arrival at
Jerusalem— the third day, for that arrival,
and the end of his work and course by his
Death. Against this, is (1) the posi-

tive use of the three days, in an affirmative
sentence,— of which no instance can be
brought where the proverbial meaning is
implied :— (2) the verb journey, proceed on
my mission, belonging to all three in ver.
88, whereas thus it only belongs to the two
first. The interpretation adopted by

Meyer (and Bleek) is this :— In three days
(literal days) the Lord's working of mira-
cles in Galilee would be ended, which had
excited the apprehension of Herod: and
then He would leave the territory, not for
fear of Herod, but because He was going
to Jerusalem to die. The objection to this
is, that the sense— of ending these present
works of healing, Ac. does not seem a suffi-
cient one for I am perfected, which, as
applied to the Lord, surely must include
His Death. I own that neither of the
above interpretations satisfies me, — and
still less the various modifications of them
which have been proposed. Nor can I
suggest any less open to objection: — but
merely state my conviction, (1) that the
days mentioned must have some definite
fixed reference to three actual days : (2)
that perfected is used in the solemn sense
elsewhere attached to the word : see John
iv. 84, "finish :" v. 86, xvii. 4; Acts xx.
24; 2 Cor. xii. 9; Heb. ii. 10, v. 9, viL 28,
especially; x. 14, xi. 40, xii. 28; in all
C 0

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386

ST. LUKE.

XIII. 34, 35.

morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a
prophet perish k out of Jerusalem. ** x O Jerusalem, Jeru-
salem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that
are sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy
children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under
y^,ffu£.'her wings, and ye would not! 85 Behold, *your house is
SuJSiSb?' left unto you \} desolate] : and [m verily] I say unto you,
' Ye shall not see me, until [athe time come when] ye shall

xMatt.xxiH.
97.

* Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
XIV. l And it came to pass, ° as he went into the house

Xfttt.xxl.fc °*J>
Mark xl. 10.

eh. six. 18.

"of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath

* render (for perspicuity), outside of.

* omit, m omit : mot in amy ancient authority.

n omitted {but perhaps because it does not occur in Matt. niii. 89) by many
ancient authorities.

0 render, when he had come.

which places it is used in the original.
If this Gospel had been a chrono-
logical calendar of oar Lord's journey, the
meaning would probably have been clear :
but as we have none such, it is, and I be-
lieve must remain, obscure. Dr. Words-
worth's note is much to the point : " It
must be remembered that Herod was ruler
of Peraa as well as of Galilee: and that
John the Baptist had been put to death
at Macbserus, where Herod had a palace,
about ten miles x. of Jericho, and thirty x.
of Jerusalem. St. Matt, ziz. 1, and St.
Mark, x. 1, 46, speak of our Lord bein£ in
Peroa, whence He passed over the river
Jordan, and so came to Jericho, and thence
to Bethany and Jerusalem for His Passion.
Herod had put John to death not in
Galilee but in Persaa; and if our Lord was
now, as seems probable, in Peraa or near
it, it was very likely that the Pharisees
should endeavour to intimidate Him with
a threat of Herod's anger." the day

following means the same as uthe third
day" above. I must journey— in

the original, it is the very word in which
they had addressed Him, " Depart (jour-
ney) hence," ver. 31. for it cannot
bo . . . ., a monopoly not without excep-
tions, for John had been put to death by
Herod out of Jerusalem. But our
Lord's saying is not to be so literally
pressed ; He states the general rule, which
in His own case was to be fulfilled. There

is no reference to the power of the Sanhe-
drim to judge and condemn false prophets
(as some think), for the fact of perishing
only is here in question;— and our Lord
never would place himself in such a cate-

gory. 34, 85.]' These verses are in

too close connexion with the preceding to
allow of the supposition that they are in-
serted unchronologically, as many suppose :
and their variations from those in Matthew
(xxiit. 87 — 39) are striking and character-
istic. For "for," which there accounts for
the desolation of the temple, then for the
last time left by our Lord, does not appear
here, but and (or hut) introducing a fresh
saying, having I believe another meaning :
and the words "from henceforth," which
follow "ye shall not see me" there, mark-
ing that moment as the commencement of
the dereliction, are here omitted. Surely
these differences indicate an uttering of the
words prophetically, previous to their ut-
terance in the act of departure. Our Lord
overleaps in prophetic foresight the death
just set forth as certain, and speaks of the
ages to come, during which the holy city
should be desolate and trodden down of
the Gentiles. That the very words,

Blessed is ho that cometh in the name of
the Lord, were used by the multitude at the
Lord's entry into Jerusalem, I should
much rather ascribe to a misunderstand-
ing by them and the disciples of this very
declaration, than for a moment suppose,
as some have done, that these words found
any sufficient fulfilment in that entry.

Chap. XIV. 1—6.] Healing op a
dbopsioal uajs ox the Sabbath. Pe-
culiar to Luke. 1.] whoa ho had
come, via. during the journeying, ch. xiii.
33. one of the chief [men of the]
Pharisees] Though the Pharisees had no
official rulers as such, they had men to
whom they looked up, as Hillel, Schammai,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XIV. 1—9.

ST. LUKE.

387

day, that they P watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a

certain man before him which had the dropsy. 8 And

Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees,

saying, a Is it lawful to heal on the * sabbath day ? * And «M»tt.xii.io.

they held their peace. And he took him, and healed

him, and let him go ; B and r answered them, saying,

b Which of you shall have * an ass or an ox fallen into a b Kxod.xxui.s.

* , t Deut.xxil.4.

pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath ch.nii.ii.
day ? 6 And they could not answer him again to these
things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were
bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief
* rooms; saying unto them, 8When thou uart bidden of
any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest ▼ room ;
lest a more honourable man than thou w be bidden of him ;
9 and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee,

P render, were watching. * read, sabbath day, or not ?

r tome ancient authorities have, said unto them. See Matt. xii. 11.

1 read, a son, or an ox. * render, places.

u render, hast been. ▼ render, place.

w render, shall have been.

Gamaliel, Ac. to eat bread] The Jews

used to give entertainments on the Sab-
bath, see Neh. viii. 9—12; Tobit ii. 1.
The practice latterly became an abuse, —
see quotations from Augustine in my Greek
Test. 8.] before him, not at a guest ;

see ver. 4, and compare ch. vii. 87, and
note on ver. 45. " He was standing there/'
says Euthymius, "not daring to ask to be
healed, on account of the Sabbath, and the
Pharisees ; but only shewing himself, that
our Lord might see him and be moved
with pity, and so proceed to heal him."
It does not appear, though it is certainly
possible, that he was set there by the Pha-
risees on purpose. This was lefbre the
meal (ver. 7). *.] There is a strict

propriety in the comparison : the accident
and disease are analogous. son, or an

ox] This reading, which, from the weight
of ancient testimony in its favour, evidently
was the original, seemed incompatible witn
the supposed argument from the less to the
greater .—son was therefore altered to att
(as in ch. xiii. 15) or sheep, as one of our
ancient MSS. has it. But our Lord's argu-
ment is of another and a far deeper kmd.
The stress is on you: and the point of
comparison is the ownership, and conse-
quent tender oare, of the object in ques-
tion. ' Those who are in your possession
and care, whether belonging to your fami-
lies, or your herds, are cared for, and

rescued from perishing : am I, (the pos-
sessor of heaven and earth, — this lies in
the background) to let mine perish with"
out care or rescue?' There may be

in the words the meaning "son, or even
ox ;" but I prefer rendering them simply.
7—24.] Satotgs ov oub Lord at
this Sabbath vbast. 7—11.] It

does not appear that the foregoing miracle
gave occasion to this saying ; so that it la
no objection to it, that it has no connexion
with it. Our Lord, as was His practice,
founds His instructions on what He saw
happening before Him. As Trench

remarks, it is probable this was a splendid
entertainment, and the guests distinguished
persons (ver. 12). 7.] ehief placet,

i. e., see Matt xxiii. 6, the middle place in
each couch, which was the most honourable.
At a large feast there would be many of
these. 8.] The whole of this has,

besides its plain reference, a deeper one,
linked into it by the important word
wedding, carrying with it all that meaning
which it always has when relating to the
Kingdom of God. Both senses are ob-
vious, and only one remark needed ; — that
all that false humility, by which men put
themselves lowest and dispraise themselves
of tet purpote to be placed higher, is, by
the very nature of our Lord's parable, ex-
cluded : for that is not bond fide abasing
one's self. The exaltation at the hands of
c2

Digitized by VjOW

388 ST. LUKE. XIV.

Give this man place ; x and thou begin with shame to take
opwt.xit.* the lowest 7 room. 10 ° But when thou art bidden, go and
sit down in the lowest 7 room ; that when he that bade
thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher :
then shalt thou have s worship in the presence of a them
dJobxx!i.». that sit at meat with thee. lldFor whosoever exalteth

P». xtUI. V.

5!°M£ttx" himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself
xTiiiii^ ° ' shall be exalted. 12 Then said he also to him that bade

James lr. 0. . -rwri v t

iPet.T.5. Y^x^ when thou makest a ■ dinner or a supper, call not
thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor
thy rich neighbours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee. 1S But when thou makest a
• Mjh.Yiii.1* feast, call ethe poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense
thee : for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of
the just.

16 And when one of them that sat at meat with him

f]t«r.xix.9. heard these things, he said unto him, f Blessed is he that

CM»tt.«xiL3. shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 g Then said he

unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade

x render, then shalt thou begin. J render, place.

■ render, glory. a read, all them. ° see above on ch. xi. 37.

the Host is not to be a purposed end to the poor, i. e. lend it to the Lord; and
the guests, but will follow true humility, then, as in ver. 14, there will be a recom-
0. then shalt thou begin . . .] pense at the resurrection of the just, which
The form of expression sets forth the re- shall not be a mere equivalent, but a rich
lactance and lingering with which it is reward. 14.] the resurrection of
done. 1L] As an example of the first the just, the first resurrection, here dis-
abuse, see Isa. xiv. 13—15; of the second, tinctly asserted by our Lord; otherwise
Phil, it 5—11. 12—14.] The composi- the words of the just would be vapid and
tion of the company before Him seems to unmeaning. See 1 Cor. xv. 22 f. ; 1 These,
have given occasion for this saying of our iv. 16; Rev. xx. 4 5. 15—24.]
Lord. The Pharisee his host had doubt- Parable of the Great Supper. One of
less, with the view (of watching Him) the guests takes this literally, and ima-
mentioned in ver. 1, invited the principal gines the great feast to which the Jews
persons of the place, and with the inten- looked forward to be meant. He spoke
tionof courting their favour, and getting as a Jew, and probably with an idea
a return. The Lord rebukes in him this that, as such, his admission to this feast
spirit;— and it has been well remarked, was sure and certain. Our Lord an-
that the intercourse and civilities of social swers him by the parable following, which
life among friends and neighbours are here shewed him that, true as his assertion was,
presupposed, (inasmuch as for them there (and He does not deny it,) the blessedness
takes place a recompense, and they are would not be practically so generally
struck off the list by this means,) witn this acknowledged nor entered into. The
caution,— that our means are not to be Parable, whatever analogy it may bear
sumptuously laid out upon them, but upon with that in Matt. xxii. 1 ff., is wholly
something far better,— the providing for different from that in many essential
the poor and maimed and lame and blind, points. 16.] The great supper is the
When we will make a sacrifice, and pro- kingdom of Ood, the feast of fat things in
vide at some cost, let us not throw our Isa. xxv. 6; completed in the marriage-
money away, as we should if a recompense supper of the Lamb; but fully prepared
is made to us in this world z but give it to when the glad tidings of the Gospel were pro-

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

10—24. ST. LUKE. 889

many: x7and hsent his servant at supper time to say tobPlwl*J'8-
them that were bidden, Come ; for [c all] things are now
ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make
excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of
ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray thee have
me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke
of oxen, and I go to prove them : I pray thee have me
excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and
therefore I cannot come. 2l So d that servant came, and
shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the
house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into
the streets and' lanes of the city, and bring in hither the
poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. ** And
the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou • hast commanded,
and yet there is room. ** And the Lord said unto the
servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled. ** For I

c omitted by several ancient authorities.

d read, the. • render, didst command.

claimed. bade many : these first bidden ments and his lost to satisfy. All are
are the Pharisees and Scribes and the detained by worldliness, in however varied
learned among the Jews. 17.] The ier- forms. 21.] The gathering of guests
▼ant represents one spirit, one message: bnt is still in the city (Matt. xzii. 7); that is,
is not necessarily, in the three cases, one still among the Jews. the streets
and the same person. The three messages and lanes, the broad and narrow streets :
were delivered (1) by John the Baptist and perhaps the cities and villages through
our Lord : (2) by our Lord and the Apos- which the Lord and his Apostles jour-
tles; (3) by the Apostles and those who neyed preaching. Here appear
came after. The elder prophets cannot be again the very persons of ver. 13; the
meant, for [all] things are now ready representatives of the wretched and de-
was the message, representing the procla- spised : " the common people {great mul-
mation of John the Baptist and our Lord, titude)," Mark xii. 37 : not perhaps with-
" The kingdom of heaven is at hand" oat a hint, that only those who knew
18— 20.] with one consent; so (ch. themselves to be spiritually poor and
vii. 30) they bad rejected John's baptism, maimed and halt and blind would come
and (John vii. 48) the Lord himself. The to the Gospel feast. 22.] The palace
saying is not to be taken strictly without ex- is large, and the guest-room: "neither
ception, e. g. that of Nicodemus : but gene- nature nor grace endures a vacuum,"
rically. So also ver. 24. The temper Bengel. 28.] The calling of the Gen-
of these self-excusers is threefold ; the «r- tiles, outside the city ; in the country
cuses themselves are threefold ; their spirit (Matt. xiii. 9, 10). oompel them to

is one. The first alleges a necessity,— he come in] Is there not here an allusion
must go and see his land : the second not to Infant Baptism ? for remember they
so much as this, only his own plan and who come in are good and bad. (Matt. 1.
purpose — "i go to prove them:" the c.) 24.] I think with Stier, that
third not so much as either of these, but our Lord here speaks in his own Person :
rudely asserts "I cannot (i. e. I will unto you will fit no circumstance in the
not) come" Also the excuses themselves parable ; for the householder and his ser-
are threefold. The first has his worldly vant are alone : the guests are not pre-
possession ('one to his farm/ Matt. xxh. sent. He speaks, with His usual For I
6) to go and see : the second his purchase say unto you, to the company present :■
(' another to his merchandise,' ibid.) of and half continuing the parable, half ex-
stock to prove : the third his home engage- pounding it, substitutes Himself for the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

390

ST. LUKE.

XIV. 25—85.

25 And there went great multitudes with him : and he
k23Vi*J!1**s turned, and said unto them, ** k If any man come to me,
litoSlk.'is. 'and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
mB«T.zu.ii. children, and brethren, and sisters, myea, and his own life
* J£k Jutst ak0* he cannot be my disciple. 27 [8 And~\ n whosoever doth
Srim.w.M. not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my dis-
ciple. 28 For • which of you, * intending to build a tower,
sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he
have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that
behold it begin to mock him, 3° saying, This man began to
build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going
to make war against another king, sitteth not down first,
and consultcth whether he be able with ten thousand to
meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

' render, not one. 8 omit. * render, Wishing.

o Pro*. xzIt.
17.

matter of the feast, leaving it hardly
doubtful who those men which were
bidden are.

20 — 86.1 Discourse to the multi-
tudes. Oar Lord is at some time farther
oa in the journey, going forward, and
speaking to the multitude on counting the
cost before any man becomes his disciple.
26, 97.] See Matt. x. 87, 38, and
note. The remark there made of the
etrangeness of this sound of the Cross, still
applies : our Lord had not yet announced
his death by crucifixion. hate not]

It is well to enquire what sense this word
here bears. That no such thing as active
hatred can be meant, is plain : our Lord
himself is an example to the contrary,
John xix. 25—27 : the hate is the general,
not personal, feeling of alienation in the
inmost heart, — so that this world's rela-
tionships, as belonging to the stale of
things in this world, are not the home and
rest of the heart. This is evident from
the yea, and his own life alto, which fol-
lows. Let the hate begin here, and little
explanation will be farther wanted. This
addition also shews that the saying was
not meant only for those times, in which
more perhaps of the disruption of earthly
ties was required, but for all time : for hie
own life is equally dear to every man in
every age. It hardly need be observed
that this hate is not only consistent with,
but absolutely necessary to the very high-
est kind of love. It is that element in

love which makes a man a wise and Chris-
tian Jriend, — not for time only, bat for
eternity. 88—80.1 Peculiar to Luke.

The same caution is followed out in this
parable. This is to be borne in mind, or
it will be misinterpreted. The ground of
the parable is, that entire self renunciation
is requisite, to become a disciple of Christ.
This man wishes to build a tower : to raise
that building (see 1 Cor. Hi. 11—15), which
we must rear on the one Foundation, and
which shall be tried in the day of the Lord.
He is advised to count the cost, to see
whether he have enough thoroughly to
finish it If he begin, lay the foundation,
— however seemingly well it may be done,
it is not well done, because he has not
enough to complete it; and the attempt
can ouly lead to shame. So it is with one
who would be Christ's disciple : but with
this weighty difference, lying in the back-
ground of the parable— that in his case
the counting the cost mast always issue in
a discovery of the utter inadequacy of his
own resources, and the going out of him*
self for strength and means to build.
81 — 88.J This same lesson is even
more pointedly set before us in the follow-
ing parable, which, as well as the other, is
frequently misunderstood. The two kings
here are,— the man desirous to become a
disciple, to work out his salvation,— and
God, with whose just and holy law he is
naturally at variances — it is his " adver-
sary" see ch. xii. 58, and note: — these

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XV. 1, 2.

ST. LUKE.

391

82 or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth
an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. M So
likewise, whosoever he be of you that ifortaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. w *J Salt is good : 'S&^m.
but if k the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be
seasoned ? ^ It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the
dunghill ; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.

XV. 1 * Then *drew near unto him all the publicans and • m»* ix.w.
sinners for to hear him. s And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and beateth baJ?iLlJ;

* render, biddeth not farewell to.

i some ancient authorities read, Salt therefore is good.

k read, even the. l render, Now there were drawing near.

two are going to engage in war; and the
question for each man to ait down and ask
himself is, 'Can I, with (the word may
probably mean olad in, — surrounded by,
all that I have, all my instrument of war)
my ten thousand, stand the charge of Him
who Cometh against me with (the preposi-
tion is different, and may represent only at
many as He pleases to briny with Sim for
the purpose, see Ps.lxviii. 17, A.V.) twenty
thousand?'— see Job xv. 24—26.
Here the inadequacy of man's resources is
plainly set forth, not left, as in the former
parable, to be inferred. Then, finding
that he has no hope of prevailing, — while
the other is yet a great way oft while
there is yet time,— he sends an embassy,
and sues for peace, abandoning the con-
flict : throwing himself upon the mere
mercy and grace of God ;— bidding fare-
well to all that he hath in both cases.
The ordinary misinterpretation of
this parable is in taking the king with
twenty thousand to be the ruler of this
world, i. e. Satan — which destroys all the
sense .—for with him the natural man is
at peace, but the disciple of Christ at
war. 84, 86.] For the third time, our

Lord repeats the saying concerning salt:
see Matt. v. 18 : Mark ix. 50, and notes.
The therefore and even, here restored to
the text are both valuable ; the former as
importing the recurrence of a saying known
before, the latter as giving force to the
supposition.. The salt, in Scripture sym-
bolism, is the whole life-retaining anti-
septic influence of the Spirit of God : — this,
working in the being My disciple, is good :
but if even this be corrupted — if the mere
appearance of this, and not the veritable
salt (which is the savour), be in you—

wherewith, Ac. ? Such a disciple is to be
east out. Salt was not used for land, Ps.
cvii. 34, nor for mingling with manure; it
is of no use for either of those purposes,
but must be utterly cast out.

Chap. XV. Pabablbb, sbttikg touts
God's mbboy to binicbbs. 1—7.]

Thb lost shbbp. It does not appear where
or when this gathering of publicans and
sinners to hear Him happened, — but cer-
tainly in the progress of this same journey,
and, we may well believe, consecutivelyon
the discourses in the last chapter. This
first parable had been spoken by our Lord
before, Matt, xviii. 12—14: but, as Trench
has remarked, with a different view : there,
to bring out the preciousness of each indi-
vidual little one in the eyes of the yood
Shepherd; here, to shew that no sheep can
have strayed so widely, but He will seek it
and rejoice over it when found. The
second is peculiar to Luke. 1.] there

were drawing near— were bailed In draw-
ing near— were continually about Him,
struck perhaps with penitence, — found, by
His seeking them :— having come from the
husks of a life of sin, to the bread of life ;
—so the three parables seem to imply,
all the publicans, a general term,
admitting of course of exceptions, see eh.
xiii. 83 and note. 8.1 receiveth into

His circle of adherents— eateth with them,
allows them to sit at meat with Him j— on
tbe journey, or at entertainments, as in
Matt. ix. 10. Stier remarks (iii. 214,
edn. 2) that this receiveth sinners is an
important and affecting testimony, from
the mouth of the enemies of our Lord, to
his willingness to receive them. The

peculiar word rendered murmured implies
cither that they did so throughout the

Digitized by VjOOQIC

392

ST. LUKE.

XV.

dUtt-xrlil.
1*.

with them. 8 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
* ° What man of you, haying an hundred sheep, if he lose
one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the
wilderness, and go after that which is lost until he find it ?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders,
rejoicing. 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth toge-
ther his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Re-
d5fc*t,il10' joice dwith me; for I have found my sheep which was
lost. 7 I say unto you, that m likewise joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth, "more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

m render, in like manner.

• ch. t. st.

journey;— or rather, one to another— re-
sponsivoly. 8—7.] The man having

the hundred sheep, it plainly the Son of
Ood, the Good Shepherd. This had been
his prophetic description, and that in this
very connexion,— of seeking the loet, Ezek.
xxxiv. 6, 11 ff. This it is which gives so
peculiar an interest to David as a type of
Christ — that he was a shepherd; ibid,
ver. 23. Our Lord plainly declares then
by this parable— and that 1 take to be the
reason why it is placed first (see below)—
that the matter in which they had found
fault with Him was the very pursuit most
in accordance with hie divine Office of
Shepherd. 4.] It is the Owner ffim-

eeff who goes to seek, see Ezek. ver. 11 —
God in Christ. The hundred sheep

are the house of Israel, see Matt. x. 6;
but in the present application, mankind :
(not, ' believers in Christ ;' see on ver. 7.)
The argument is to their self-interest :
but the act on the part of the good Shep-
herd is, from the nature of the case, one of
love s or, as Stier remarks, also human love
for his owns for in Him, Love, and His
glory, are one and the same thing.
the ninety and nine] These pass altogether
into the background, and are lost sight of.
The character of the good Shepherd is a
sufficient warrant for their beinff well
cared for. The wilderness is not a barren
place, but one abounding in pastures
(John vL 10, compared with Matt. xiv.
15). 5J Not mere self-interest,

but love comes forward here ; see Isa. xl.
11. No blows are given for the straying—
no hard words : mercy to the lost one, —
and joy within himself, — are the Shep-
herd's feeling; the sheep is weary with
long wanderings, — He gives it rest. Matt,
ix. 86; xi. 28. 6.] In this return to

His house, must be understood the whole

course of seeking and finding which the
good Shepherd, either by Himself or His
agents, nowpursues in each individual case,
even until He brings the lost sheep home
into heaven to Himself— not in reality, so
that it should not take place till the death
of the penitent— but by anticipation, —
till the name is written in heaven;— till
the sinner is penitent. This is dear from
the interpretation in ver. 7. Tfie friends
and neighbours represent the angels (and
spirits of just men made perfect P).
my sheep which was loet breathes
a totally different thought from "the
piece (drachma) which I lost." There is
pity and love in it, which, from the nature
of the case, the other does not admit of.
7. I say unto you] In these words
the Lord often introduces His revelations
of the unseen world of glory: see Matt,
xviii. 10. On these just persons, see

note at Matt. ix. 12, 13. They are the
subjectively righteous, and this saying
respects their own view of themselves. (Or
if it be required that the words should be
literally explained, seeing that these ninety-
nine did not err, — then I see no other way
but to suppose them, in the deeper meaning
of the parable, to be the worlds that have
not fallen ;— and the one that has strayed,
our human nature, in this our world.)
But we have yet to enquire, what sort of
sinner this parable represents ; for each of
the three sets before us a different type
of the sinner sunk in his sin. Benget, in
distinguishing the three, says, " The sheep,
the drachma, the prodigal son,— signify
respectively, (1) the stupid sinner,— (2) the
sinner wholly unconscious of the fact and
of himself,— (3) the sinner conscious and of
purpose." This one is the stupid and be-
wildered sinner, erring and straying away
in ignorance and self-will from his Shop-

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3—12.

ST. LUKE.

S93

8 Either what woman having ten * pieces of silver, if she
lose one * piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the
house, and seek diligently till she find it ? • And when
she hath found it, she calleth her • friends and her neigh-
bours together, saying^ Rejoice with me ; for I have found
the » piece which I [P had] lost. 10 » Likewise, I say unto
you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner that repenteth. n And he said, A certain man
had two sons : 12 and the younger of them said to his

n literally, drachmas, and drachma. • the original word is feminine.

P omit.

herd, bat sought by the Shepherd, and
fetched back with joy. 8—10.]

Thb lost piece of money. In the fol-
lowing wonderful parable, we have the
next class of sinners set before us, sought
for and found by the power and work of
the Spirit in the Church of Christ. It
will be seen, as we proceed, how perfectly
this interpretation comes out, not as a
fancy, but as the very kernel and eenee of
the parable. The woman cannot be the
Church absolutely, for the Church herself
is a lost sheep at first, sought and found by
the Shepherd. Rather is the house here
the Church — as will come out by and by,
— and the woman the indwelling Spirit,
working in it. All men belong to this
Creator-Spirit ; all have been stamped with
the image of God. But the sinner lies in
the dust of sin and death and corruption —
"wholly unconscious.1* Then the Spirit,
lighting the candle of the Lord (Prov. xx.
27 : Zeph. i. 12), searching every corner
and sweeping every unseen place, find* out
the sinner; restores him to his true value
as made for God's glory. This lighting
and sweeping are to be understood of the
office of the Spirit in the Church, in its
various ways of seeking the sinner— by
the preaching of repentance, by the Word
of God read, Ac. Then comes the joy
again. 0.] bar (female) friends and

her neighbours are invited— but there is
no return home now — nor in the explana-
tion, ver. 10, is there any "in heaven,"
because the Spirit abide* in the Church
—because the angel* are present in the
Church, see 1 Cor. xi. 10:— nor is it
"shall he" (as in ver. 7 at the return of
the Redeemer then future), but is— the
ministering spirits rejoice over every soul
that is brought out of the dust of death
into God's treasure-house by the searching
of the blessed Spirit. * In this parable

then we have set before us the sinner who
is unconscious of himsetftud hi* own real

worth i who is lying, though in reality a
precious coin, in the mire of this world,
lost and valueless, till he is searched out by
the blessed and gracious Spirit. And that
such a search will be made, we are here
assured. 11-22.1 The Pbodigal

Son. Peculiar to Luke. 'If we might
venture here to make comparisons, as we do
among the sayings of men, this parable of
the Lord would rightly be called, the crown
and pearl of all Hi* parable*' Stier.
We have here the glad and welcome re-
ception of the returning sinner (sinner under
the most aggravating circumstances) in the
bosom of his heavenly Father : and agree-
ably to the circumstances under which
the discourse was spoken, the just men
who murmured at the publicans and sin-
ners are represented under the figure of
the elder son: — see below. The parable
certainly was spoken on the same occasion
as the preceding, and relates to the
same subject. Those who for the sake
of upholding the patristic interpretation
deny this, seem to me to have entirely
missed the scope of the parable: see
below. 11. j A osrtain man— Oar

heavenly Father, the Creator and Pos-
sessor of all : not Christ, who ever repre-
sents Himself as a son, although fre-
quently as a possessor or lord. two
tons, not, in any direct or primary sense
of the Parable, the Jew* and the Gentile* :
that there may be an ulterior application
to this effect, is only owing to the parable
grasping the great central truth*, of which
the Jew and Gentile were, in their relation,
illustrations,— and of which such illustra-
tions are furnished wherever such differ-
ences occur. The two parties stand-
ing in the foreground of the parabolic
mirror are, the Scribe* and Pharisees as
the elder son, the publicans and sinner* as
the younger; — all, Jews : all, belonging to
God's family. The mystery of the ad-
mission of the Gentiles into God's Church

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394

ST. LUKE.

XV.

father, Father, give me the portion of goods that felleth to
fMwkxii.44. me. And he divided unto them 'his living. u And not
many days after the younger son gathered all together,
and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted
his substance with 4 riotous living. 14 And when he had
spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and
he began to be in want. 16 And he went and joined
himaftlf to a citizen of that country ; and he sent him into
his fields to feed swine. w And he would fain bave filled
his belly with the r husks that the swine did eat : and no
man gave unto him. *? » And when he came to himself, he

4 better, profligate : see note.

was not yet made known in any such
manner as that they should be repre-
sented as of one family with the Jews ; —
not to mention that this interpretation
fails in the very root of the parable ; for
in strictness the Gentile should be the
elder, the Jew not being constituted in his
superiority till 2000 years after the Crea-
tion. The upholders of this interpre-
tation forget that when we speak of the
Jew as elder, and the Gentile as younger, it
is m respect not of birth, but of thu very
return to and reception into the Father's
house, which is not to be considered yet.
The objections of these interpreters
do not touch the reasons here given.
The relations of elder and younger have a
peculiar fitness for the characters to be filled
by them, and are I believe chosen on that
account ; as .Euthymius says, " He names
the sinner the younger, as being childish
in mind and easily led astray." 18, 18.]
The part of the parable relating to the
prodigal himself divides itself into three
parts — 1. his tin: 2. his misery: 3. his
penitence. In these verses his sin is de-
scribed. It consists in a desire to depart
from his Father's house and control, and
to set up for himself,— to live a life of
what the carnal man calls liberty.
18.] Such a request as this is shewn by Ori-
entaHsts to have been known in the East,
though not among the Jews. The
firstborn had two-third* of the property,
see Dent. xxi. 17. The father, as implied
in the parable, reserves to himself the
power during his life over the portion of
the firstborn, see ver. 31. The parable
sets before us very strikingly the permis-
sion of free will to man. 18.] The
images of both the preceding parables are
united here : — in his taking his journey, we
have the straying sheep ; in his state when
he got into the far country, the lost piece

r see note.

1 render, But.

of money. But in this case the search is to
be carried on within him — we are now on
higher ground than in those two parables.
"The far-off country represents forgetful-
ness of God." Augustine. profligate]

The old English word retchleas expresses
perhaps best the meaning, which is not
* unsparing/ but incorrigible, past hope of
reclaim. 14—16.] Sis misery is set

forth in these verses. He soon spends all :
—there is a fine irony, as Stier remarks, in
the word spent, as compared with wasted
before— he spent his money for that which
was no bread. 14. a mighty famine]

This famine is the shepherd seeking his
stray sheep — the woman sweeping to find
the lost. The famine, in the interpreta-
tion, is to be subjectively taken ; he begins
to be in want, — to feel the emptiness of
soul which precedes either utter abandon-
ment or true penitence. 15.] He sinks
lower and lower—becomes the despised
servant of an alien (is there here any hint
at the situation of the publicans, who were
but the servants of wealthy Romans ?) who
employs him in sn office most vile and
odious to the mind of a Jew. 16. husks]
< These are not the husks or pods of some
other fruit, as of peas or beans, but them-
selves a fruit, that of the carob [or
earuba, found not only in the East, but in
South Europe, e. g. in abundance on the
Riviera between Nice and Genoa. H. A.]

tree They are in shape something

like a bean-pod, though larger and more
curved, thence called heraHon or little horn
.... they have a hard dark outside and
a dull sweet taste .... the shell or pod
alone is eaten.' Trench. His appetite even
drove him to these for food;— for (this is
the real sense involved in and) no man gave
(aught) to him. We see him now in

the depth of his misery, — the sinner reap-
ing the consequences of his sin in utter

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13—22.

ST. LUKE.

395

said. How many hired servants of my father's have bread
enough and to spare, and I **peri*h with hunger ! 18 I will
arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and t before thee, 19 *and
am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me as one
of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his
father. But * when he was yet a great way off, his father *ij&5;3;
saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his
neck, and ▼ kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and * in thy sight,
h*and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 Buthp».u.4.
the father said to his servants, w Bring forth the x best
robe, and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and

■• read and render, am perishing here.

* these two are the same expression in the original.

u read, I am, placing a colon before it.'

▼ literally, eagerly kissed : see on Matt. xxvi. 49 : Mark xiv. 45 : ch. vii. 38,
45: Acts ix. 37.

w many ancient authorities read, Bring forth quickly.

x literally, first.

shame and extremity of need. 17— 20.]
His penitence. And here we have a weighty
difference between the permitted rational
free will of man, and the stupid wandering
on of the sheep, or the inanimate coin lying
till it is picked up, — both these being how-
ever true in the case of man, did not Ood
seek and save the sinner: ' the grace of Ood
by Christ preventing us, that we may have
a good will, and working witli us when we
have that good will/ Article X. of the
Church of England. 17. when he oame
to himself] See 1 Kings viii. 47. Before
this, he was beside himsety. The most
dreadful torment of the lost, in fact that
which constitutes their state of torment,
will be this coming to themselves, when too
late for repentance. He now recalls

the peace and plenty of his Father's house.
hired servants] For he now was a
hireling, but in how different a case !
18.] I will arise, see ver. 24* was dead, and
it alive again ; it was truly a resurrection
from the dead . This resolution is a further
step than his last reflection. In it he
nowhere gives up his sonship: this, and
the word Father, lie at the root of his
penitence :— it is the thought of having
sinned against (in the parable itself, Hea-
ven and) Thee, which works now in him.
And accordingly he does not resolve to ask
to be made one of the hired servants, but
as one of them : — still a son, but as an
hireling. " And what is it that gives the

sinner now a sure ground of confidence,
that returning to Ood he shall not be re-
pelled, nor cast out? The adoption of
sonship which he received in Christ Jesus
at his baptism, and his faith that the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance
or recall." Trench. 20.] What he

has resolved, he does : a figure not of the
usual, but of the proper course of such
a state of mind. when he was yet

a great way off] Who can say whether
this itself was not a seeking ? whether his
courage would have held out to the meet-
ing ? On what follows, see especially
Jer. iii. 12; James iv. 8; Gen. xlvi. 29;
2 Sam. xiv. S3. 21.] The intended
close of his confession is not uttered; —
there is no abatement of his penitence,
for all his Father's touching and reas-
suring kindness, — but his filial confidence
is sufficiently awakened to prevent the re-
quest that he might be as an hired servant.
22.] All these gifts belong to his re-
ception, not as a servant, but as a son : the
first robe, for him who came in rags, — Iaa.
lxi. 10; Rev. iii. 18:— but first must not
be understood as meaning the robe which
he used to wear — his former robe — this
would not be consistent with the former
part of the parable, in which he was not
turned out with any disgrace, but left as
a son and of his own accord : but best, as
in the A.V. :— a robe, (yea) the first and
goodliest. The ring,- a token of a

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S96

ST. LUKE.

XV. 23—82.

shoes on his feet : w and bring hither the fatted calf, and

'Ti^.uf^'kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ^'for this my son

Ber.ui.1. wag jea<j^ an(j -g ajjve again . he was lost, and is found.

And they began to be merry. *° Now his elder son was in
the field : and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he
heard musick and dancing. ** And he called one of 7 the
servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he
said onto him, Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath
killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him 'safe
and sound. w And he was angry, and would not go in :
* there/ore came his father out, and in treated him. *• And
he answering said to his father, Lo, D these many years do I
serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy com-
mandment : and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I

7 render, his. s literally, in health.

* read, but his father came out.

0 literally, for SO many, naming tome number. See Act* v. 8, where ike ward
is the tame.

distinguished and free person, see James
ii. 2; Gen. xli. 42. The shoes, also

the mark of a free man (for slaves went
barefoot), see Zech. z. 12; Eph. vi. 15.
These are the gifts of grace and holiness
with which the returned penitent is clothed
by his gracious Father ; see Zech. iii. 4, 5.
28. the fatted calf 1 So Judg. vi.
26. Gideon is commanded to kill thy
father's young bullock of seven years old
(rendered by the LXX thy father** fatted
calf)-, some calf fatted for a particular
feast or anniversary, and standing in the
stall. No allusion must be thought of to
the sacrificing of Christ .—which would
be wholly out of place here,— and is pre-
supposed in the whole parable. be
merry] So ver. 6, "joy in heaven;"— all
rejoice. Some of these are servants who
have entered into the joy of their Lord :
Matt. xxv. 21, 23. 24.] dead, and ii
alive again,— the lost money : lost, and is
found,— the lost sheep : see 1 John iii. 14 :
Eph. ii. 5: 1 Pet. ii. 25. began, a
contrast to the "began" in ver. 14.
26—28.] As far as regards the penitent,
the parable is finished :— but those who
murmured at his reception, who were the
proud and faultless elder son, — always in
the house and serving, but not, as will
appear, either over-affectionate or over-
respectful, — they too must act their part,
in order to complete the instruction. As
regards the penitent, this part of the
parable sets forth the reception he meets
with from his fellow-men, in contrast to

that from his father i see Matt, xviii. 27,
80. 26.] in the field- probably

working, in the course of his "serving," as
he expresses it, ver. 29. He was appa-
rently returning at meal-time,
musiok and dancing] This is one of those
by-glances into the lesser occupations and
recreations of human life, by which the
Lord so often stamps his tacit approval on
the joys and unbendings of men. Would
these festal employments have been here
mentioned by Him on so solemn and
blessed an occasion, if they really were
among those works of the devil which He
came into the world to destroy?
28 — 82.] Stier well remarks that this
elder is now the lost son : he has lost all
childlike filial feeling ; he betrays the hy-
pocrite within. The love and forbearance
of the father are eminently shewn — the
utter want of love and humility in the son
strongly contrasted with them.
29.] Lo, these many yean de I serve thee,
the very manner of speech of a Pharisee :
as is the continuation. Let us ask with
reference to the differences in the explana-
tion, Could the Jewish nation be intro-
duced saying, even in the falsest hypocrisy,
that they had never transgressed God's
commandments ? thou never gavest

me answers to the younger son's "give
me" in ver. 12;— it is a separation of the
individual son from his father, and, as
there pointed opt, the very root and
ground of sin. a kid, of less value

than a calf. my friends— who are

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XVI. 1.

ST. LUKE.

397

might make merry with my friends : 3° but as soon as this
thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with
harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And
he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that
I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make
merry, and be glad: kfor this thy brother was dead, andkw.n
is alive [c again] ; and was lost, and is found.

XVI. 1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a
certain rich man, which had a steward ; and the same was

c omit.

these ? this elder son also then he* friends,
who are not his father's friends : see Matt.
xiii. 16, "they sent out unto him their
disciples with the Herodians."
80. tail thy son] The last degree of scorn
and contempt,— just snch as was shewn by
the Pharisees towards the publicans and
sinners (see ch. zviii. 11). *I will not
count such an impure person my brother'
thy living] A covert reproach of his
father for haying given it to him.
with harlots] A charitable addition on the
part of the elder brother, such as those
represented by him always take care to
make under similar circumstances. Even
supposing it a necessary inference from
the kind of life * hich he had been leading,
it was one which nothing but the bitterest
jealousy would have uttered at such a
time. thou halt killed for him the

fatted calf] Parallel with "he receiveih
sinners and eaieth with them,9' ver. 2.
'Thou hast not only made him equal to
me, but hast received him into superior
favour/ 81.] thou art ever with

me, as a reason why no extraordinary joy
should be shewn over him; other reasons
might be assigned, and lie indeed in the
background, suggested by his tone and
words : but this is the soft answer to turn
away wrath. all that I have is

thine, because the portion of goods which
remained was his. 88. It was meet]

The Father still asserts the restored son-
ship of his returned prodigal — this thy
brother. We may remark that the diffi-
culties which have been found in the latter
part of the parable, from the uncontra-
dicted assertion in ver. 29, if the Pharisees
are meant,— and the great pride and un-
charitableness shewn, if really righteous
persons are meant, — are considerably
lightened by the consideration, that the
contradiction of that assertion would have
been beside the purpose of the parable ;
that it was the very thing on which the
Pharisees prided themselves; that, besides,
it is sufficiently contradicted in fact , by

the spirit and words of the elder son. He
was breaking his Father's commandment
even when he made the assertion,— and
the making it is part of his hypocrisy.
The result of the Father's entreaty
is left purposely uncertain (see Trench,
Parables) : is it possible that this should
have been the case, had the Jewish nation
been meant by the elder brother ? But
now, as he typifies a set of individuals who
might themselves be (and many of them
were) won by repentance, — it is thus
broken off, to be closed by each individual
for himself. For we are all in turn
examples of the cases of both these
brothers, containing the seeds of both
evil courses in our hearts : but, thanks be
to God, under that grace, which is suffi-
cient and willing to seek and save us from
both.

Chap. XVI. 1—8.] Pababui or thb
tjnjubt 8TBWABD. Peculiar to Luke. No
parable in the Gospels has been the subject
of so much controversy as this : while, at
the same time, the general stream of inter-
pretation is well denned, and, in the main,
satisfactory. It would be quite beyond
the limits of this note to give any thing
like a catalogue of the views respecting it :
the principal ones which differ from that
which I have adopted, will be noticed in
the course of my remarks. 1.] he

said also — a continuation, I believe, or the
foregoing :— certainly closely connected in
subject with it, as is the second parable in
this chapter also: see below. unto

his disciples, not to the Twelve only, but to
the multitude of the disciples; and more
immediately perhaps to the Publicans,
whose reception by Him had been the
occasion of this discourse. I say this be-
cause I believe them to hold a place,
though not a principal or an exclusive one,
in the application of the parable which
follows. There was a certain rich

man . . . .] The history of this parable
is, in itself, purely worldly. The master
is a son of this world, as well as his

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393

ST. LUKE.

XVI.

accused unto him that he d had wasted his goods. a And he
called him, and said unto him, * How is it that I hear this
of thee ? *give an account of thy stewardship ; for thou
% may est be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said
within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh
away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I

* render, was wasting — literally scattering.

0 see note. * render, give up the account.

fcT render, Canst.

steward : bear this in mind : — the whole
parabolic machinery in from the standing-
point of the children of this world.
In the interpretation, this rich man is the
Almighty Possessor of ail things. This is
the only tenable view. Meyer, who sup-
poses him to be Mammon (defending it by
the consideration that dismissal from his
service is equivalent to being received into
everlasting habitations, which it is not —
see below), is involved in inextricable diffi-
culties farther on. Olshansen's view, that
he represents the Devil, the prince of this
world, will be found equally untenable.
Schleiermacher's, that the Romans are in-
tended, whose stewards the Publicans were,
and that the debtors are the Jews, hardly
needs refuting ;— certainly not more refu-
ting, than any consistent exposition will of
itself furnish! a steward, a general

overlooker— very much what we under-
stand by an agent, or 'a man of busi-
ness,' or, in the larger sense, a steward.
They were generally of old, slaves : but
this man is a freeman, from w. 3, 4. This
steward represents especially the Publicans,
but also all the disciples, \. e. every man
in Chrisfs Church. We are all God's
stewards, who commits to our trust His
property: — each one's office is of larger
or smaller trust and responsibility, accord-
ing to the measure entrusted to him.
I say, especially the Publicans, because
the Twelve, and probably others, had
relinquished all and followed Christ, and
therefore the application of the parable to
them would not be so direct: and also
because I cannot but put together with
this parable and consider as perhaps
prompted by it or the report of it, the
profession of Zacchssus, ch. xix. 8. Others
have supposed the steward to represent
the Pharisees— hnt then the parable should
have been addressed to them, which it was
not : and this view entirely rails in the ap-
plication, was accused unto him: it
is the same word in the original which
generally represents Jfefr* or wrongful ac-
cusation. This it was not here, but it was

malicious : and the reason why the word has
come so generally to signify * wrongful ac-
cusation,' is, that malicious charges are so
frequently slanderous. The steward him-
self does not deny it. The charge against
him was not, that he had wasted (JL V.),
but was wasting, his master's goods. In
this charge (spiritually) we may see the real
guilt of every man who is entrusted with
the goods of our Heavenly Father. We
are all ' scattering his goods.' If some
one is to be found to answer to the ac-
cusers, the analogy of * the Accuser of the
brethren ' is too striking to escape us.
9.] It makes very little difference either in
admissibility of construction or of sense,
whether we render, 'why do I hear this of
thee ? ' i. e. * what is the ground of this
report? — what occasion hast thou given
for this being brought to me ? ' or, * What
is this that I hear of thee ? ' i. e. ' give
some account of it' I prefer rather the
former, because no opportunity of expla-
nation what it is, is given him, but he is
commanded to produce his books, to shew
how it has arisen. give up the ac-

count of thy stewardship; for (taking for
granted the correctness of the report* the
steward not denying it) thou wilt net ha
able to retain thy stewardship any longer,
— in ordinary English, thou canst not, Ac.
The impossibility lies in the nature of
things— thou art precluded from.
The interpretation of this announcement
to the steward, is the certainty, spoken by
God in every one of our consciences, that
we must give up, and give an account of,
our stewardship at death. The great truth
lies in the background, that that dismissal,
death itself, is the consequence of the scat-
ter ing His goods — the wages of sin.
8.] The steward sets before himself the
certainty of poverty and misery. He has
not by his waste of his lord's property been
laying up any store for himself; — that is
not the point of the parable ; — he has lived
softly and effeminately, and cannot do an
honest day's work:— dig is used for aU
manual labours. This speech, of digging

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2—9.

ST. LUKE.

399

am ashamed. * I am resolved what to do, that, when I
am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into
their houses. 6 So he called every one of * his lord's
debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest
thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred i mea-
sures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and
sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to
another, And how much owest thou ? And he said, An
hundred l measures of wheat. And he said unto him,
Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And k the lard com-
mended l the unjust steward because he had done wisely :
for the m children of this world are nin their generation ^ Jota M ^
wiser than a the m children of light. 9 And I say unto you, fft£.V5.

* render, his own lord's. * see note. k render, his lord.

1 literally, the steward of unrighteousness.

m render, Sons. n render, for their own.

and begging, moat not be sought for in
the interpretation ; it belongs to the truth
of the parable itself as introducing the
scheme which follows, bat has no ulte-
rior meaning. Ill am resolved:
implying, I have just arrived at the know-
ledge,—an idea has just struck me,— I
have a plan. they may receive me
— viz. those who are about to be spoken
of, the debtors. He has them in his mind.
Observe, the aim of his scheme is
that they may receive him into their
houses,— give him shelter. This is made
use of afterwards in the interpretation, for
which see on ver. 9. 6.J It is more
natural to suppose that these debtors had
borrowed, i. e. not yet paid for these articles
of food out of the stores of the rich man,
than that they were contractors to the
amounts specified. of his own lord's,
— shewing the unprincipled boldness of his
plan for saving himself: as we express the
same when we say, 'he robbed his own
father.' 6.1 measures— this first time
the word is baths, for liquids, as the ephah
for solids. See Exek. xlv. 10, 11, 14.
Take thy MU1 The steward, not yet out of
office, has all the vouchers by him, and
returns each debtor his own bond for him
to alter the figure (not, to make another,
which would imply the destruction of the
old bond, not its return). sit down is
graphic. quiokly implies the hurry with
which the furtive business is transacted.
The debtors seem to be all together, that
all mav be implicated and none may tell of
the other. 7.] measures— this second
time the word is the corus, twelve Attic

bushels, according to Josephus. There
does not appear to be any designed mean-
ing in the variation of the amount deducted.
We may easily conceive a reason, if we will,
in the different circumstances of the debtors.

8.] his lord— of course, the lord of
the steward. The A. V. ought to have
been thus expressed, and not " the lord,"
and there would have been no ambiguity.
He praised him, because he had acted
shrewdly, cleverly for his own interest.
The point brought out is not merely tho
shrewdness of the steward,, but his lord,
whose injury was wrought by this very
shrewdness, praising it : for, our Saviour
adds, the sons of this world, to which
category both belonged — he who conceived
and he who praised the shrewdness— are
more shrewd (towards the purposes of)
their own generation— for the purposes
of their self-interest, — than the sons of
light. But this very expression "their
own generation," indicates that there is a
better and a higher generation, the family
of light (John xii. 86 : Rom. xiii. 12 : Eph.
v. 8: 1 Thess. v. 5), whose interests re-
quire a higher and better wisdom and
foresight. It is hardly necessary to add
that the discovery of the steward's trick
by the master is. essential to the parable,
as exemplifying the wisely and wiser.

O.J We now pass to the application
at once — from the mouth of our Lord
Himself. All that is dishonest and fur-
tive in the character of the steward be-
longed entirely to him as a son of this
world: but even in this character there
was a point to praise and imitate. And

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400

ST. LUKE.

XVI.

b S&% %• b Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighte-
S«?iTta. ousness; that, °wk ye fail, they may receive you into

oMittJjw.ii.p everlasting habitations. 10cHe that is faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is
unjust in the least is unjust also in much. ll If therefore
ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,
who will commit to your trust the true [* ricAes] ? 12 And
if ye have not been faithful in that which is another
man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

4Matt.Ti.s4. is d No servant can serve two masters: for either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to
the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and

0 read, when it fails.

4 not expressed in the original.

the dishonesty itself is not inserted without
purpose— viz. to shew us how little the
eon* of this world scruple to use it, and
how natural it is to them. 2fow, however,
we stand on higher ground : to the pure,
all things are pure : — in bringing up the
example into the purer air which the
children of light breathe, its grosser parts
drop off, and the finer only remain.
Notice the emphasis, which ought always
to be observed in reading, And I say unto
you. It seems to recognize a necessary
difference in the two situations : — ' although
you are children of the light and the day,
and can do no such furtive acts, yet I say

to you' This view will explain how

we may make friends of the mammon of

unrighteousness, just as we can make an
example for ourselves out of the steward of
unrighteousness— that which is of itself
of unrighteousness — which belongs to, is
part of a system of, unrighteousness —
which is the very root of all evils, the
result, and the aptest concretion, of that
system of mine and thine (see ch. xv. 12)
which is itself the result of sin having
entered into the world. And we are to
use this mammon of unrighteousness to
make ourselves,— not palaces, nor barns,
nor estates, nor treasures,— but friends;
i. e. to bestow it on the poor and needy —
(see ch. xii. 83, which is the most striking
parallel to onr text— "when it fails," with
"a -treasure which shall not fail") that
when it shall fail,— they, i. e. the friends
—{compare the joy in heaven ch. xv. 7, 10,
and Baxter's remark cited there by Stier
— 'Js there joy in heaven at thy con-
version, and will there be none at thy
glorification P') may receive you into the
(or their) everlasting tabernacles. See also
ch. ziv. 18, 14. God repays in their

P render, the everlasting.

name. They receive us there with joy, if
they are gone before us: they receive us
there by making us partakers of their
prayers, ' which move the Hand that moves
the world,' even during this life. Deeds
then of charity and mercy are to be our
spiritual shrewdness, by which we may
turn to our account the unjust mammon, —
providing ourselves with mends out of it ;
— and the debtors are here perhaps to be
taken in their literal, not parabolic sense —
we are to lighten their burdens by timely
relief— the only way in which a son of
light can change the hundred into fifty,
or fourscore : see Isa. lviii. 6—8.
10—12.] Closely connected with the fore-
going;—the 'faithfulness in the least' is
the same as the prudence and shrewdness
just spoken of; — in the case of the children
of light they run up into one — who is the
faithful and wise steward, ch. xii. 42;—
the least is the unrighteous mammon,
which is the same as that which is an-
other man's — the wealth of this present
world, which is not the Christian's own,
nor his proper inheritance. The much, —
the true [neAes],— that which is your
own, is the true riches of God's inherit-
ance : of which the earth (see Matt. v. 6)
forms a part, which God (implied in the
who t for there will be none to give it
you if you be untrue during this state of
probation; — He will not be your God)
shall give to you. The wealth of this
world is another man's— forfeited by sin-
only put into our hands to try us, and to
be rendered an account of. IS.] See

note on Matt. vi. 24. The connexion here
is,— that we must, while put in trust with
the unrighteous mammon, be serving not it,
but God. The saying here applies ad-
mirably to the Pharisees and Publicans :

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10—19.

ST. LUiE.

401

xix.9. Marie
a. 11. lCor.
tU.10,11.

mammon. 14 And the Pharisees also, • who were covetous, •«•** aUL
heard all these things : and they derided him. 16 And he
said unto them, Ye are they which 'justify yourselves fchx«-
before men; but *God knoweth your hearts: *for hthat{fS»Slirt.7.
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in
the sight of God. 16 l The law and the prophets were until IM£^l!I8.l7,
John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, "** w"
and every man presseth into it. x7kAnd it is easier kgj*|-JJ5f-
for heaven and earth to pass, than one » tittle of the law Ji. ^ftji.
to fail. 18 l Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth iMat*.T.»
another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth
her that is put away from *her husband committeth
adultery. 19 ** There was a certain rich man, which was

r render, because. ■ see on Matt. v. 18.

* read, an. ** render, Now there.

the former were, to outward appearance, the circumstances, and with what had

before been said. As early as Tertullian,
in the third century, it was remarked,
that an allusion was meant here to the
adultery of Herod Antipas with his brother
Philip's wife, which the Pharisees had
tacitly sanctioned, thus allowing an open
breach of that law which Christ came to
fulfil. To this mention of Herod's crime
the until John gave relevance. Still the
idea must not be too lightly assumed.
Bleek's remark is worth notice, that, had
such an allusion been intended, the last
words of the verse would have been other*
Antipas had not married

the servants of God, but inwardly served
Mammon; — the latter, by profession in
the service of Mammon, were, by coming
to Jesus, shewing that they inwardly
served Qod.

14—81.] By occasion oe the covet-
ous Phabisees debidino Him, otjb
loed speaks the pabable oe the
bich mae and Lazabus. The Pha-
risees were not 6low in perceiving that
the scope of all these thing* was to place
this world's goods, and all that the covet-
ous seek after, at a very low price. It
will be observed that the sayings which
follow are in reference to matters men-
tioned during the discourses, or arising
out of the character of the Pharisees as
commented on in them. 15.] See

last note, end. justify yourselves

before men— a contrast to " I have sinned
before thee," ch. xv. 18 : and abomination
in the sight of God, to "joy in the presence
of the angels of Qod," ch. xv. 10.
16.] See Matt. xi. 12 and note. The

connexion is, — ' Ye are they that justify
yourselves before men; ye are no publi-
cans and sinners, — no poor and needy, —
but righteous, and increased with this
world's goods. But, since John, a king-
dom has been preached, into which every
one, publicans and sinners too (ch. xv. 1),
are pressing in. The true relation how-
ever of that kingdom to the law is not as
ye suppose, to destroy the law (Matt. v.
17), but to fulfil' Then, as an example,
our Lord reiterates the decision which He
had before given on a point much contro-
verted among the Jews — the law of adul-
tery. But this He does, not without
occasion given, and close connexion with
Vol. I.

a divorced woman, but abduced a married
woman from her husband. See on

Matt. v. 32. 19—31.] Our Lord, in

this closing parable, grasps the whole
covetous and self-seeking character of the
Pharisees, shews them a case in which it is
carried to the utmost, by one who ' made
no friends ' — with the unrighteous Mam-
mon;— places in contrast with it a case
of extreme destitution and poverty, — the
very thing which the covetous most
abhorred ; — and then passes over into the
region beyond the grave, shewing them
the contrast there also — and ending with
a mysterious prophetic hint at the final
rejection of the Kingdom of God and
Himself by those for whom the law and
prophets were insufficient to bring them
to repentance. And while it does not
appear that the covetousness of the Phari-
sees shewed itself in this particular way,
our Lord here grasps the depravity by its
root, which is, a godless and loveless self-
seeking — saying in the heart, 'There is
no Qod ' — and acting accordingly.
The explanation of particular points Bee
D D

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402

ST. LUKE.

XVI.

clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day : 2° and there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 and
desiring to be fed with *lhe crumbs which fell from the
rich man's table : moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and
was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich
u read, that which.

.below. 19.] ffow connects this

directly with what goes before; being an
answer, not immediately to any thing
said by the Pharisees, but to their scoffs
at Him ; — as if He had said, 'hear now a
parable' a certain rich man.]

Tertnllian thought that Herod was meant,
and by Lazarus John ; and this view has
been taken by others also : but surely with
no probability. Our Lord might hint with
stern rebuke at the present notorious
crime of Herod, but can hardly be thought
to have spoken thus of him. That the
circumstances will in some measure apply
to these two, is owing, as above in ch. zv.,
to the parable taking the general case,
of which theirs was a particular instance.
Others have thought that the rich man
sets forth the Jews and the poor man the
Gentiles. In my view, the very name of
the poor man (see below) is a sufficient
answer to this. Observe, that this

rich man is not accused of any flagrant
crimes : — he lives, as the world would say,
as became his means and station ; he does
not oppress nor spoil other men : he is
simply a ion of this generation, in the
highest form. purple and fine

linen, the Tyrian costly purple — and the
fine linen (for under clothing) from Egypt.

20.] The significant name Lazarus
and Eleazarus, the same as Eleazar,— and
meaning, Ood is my help, should have
prevented the expositors from imagining
this to be a true history. Perhaps

by this name our Lord may have intended
to Jill in the character of the poor man,
which indeed must otherwise be under*
Btood to be that of one who feared God.

He was, or had been—cast down,
i. e. was placed there on purpose to get
what he could of alms. hit gate,

see on Matt. xxvi. 69 : it was the portal,
which led out of the vestibule into the
court. 21.] It would seem that he

did obtain this wish, and that the word
desiring, as would fain in cb. xv. 16,
must mean that he looked for it, will-
ingly took it. The moreover
seems also to imply, that he got the
crumbs: this verse relating the two

points of contrast to the rich man: hid
only food, the crumbs, with which he
longed to fill his belly, but could not :—
his only clothing, nakedness and sores,
and instead of the boon companions of
the rich man, none to pity him but the
dogs, who licked— certainly in pity, not
increasing his pain, as Bengel thinks,—
his sores, as they do their own. Such
was the state of the two in this world.
22.] The burial of Lazarus is not
mentioned, "on account of the neglect
attending the burial of beggars," as Eu-
thymius. was carried by the

angels] In the whole of this description,
the following canon of interpretation may
be safely laid down :— Though it is un-
natural to suppose that our Lord would
in such a parable formally reveal any nev
truth respecting the state of the dead,—
yet, in conforming himself to the ordinary
language current on these subjects, it is
impossible to suppose that He, whose es-
sence is Truth, could have assnraed as ex-
isting any thing which does not exist. It
would destroy the truth of our Lord's say-
ings, if we could conceive Him to have
used popular language which did so*
point at truth. And accordingly, where
such language was current, we find Him
not adopting, but protesting against it:
see Matt. xv. 5. The bearing of the

spirits of the just into bliss by the holy
angels is only analogous to their other
employments : see Matt. xiii. 41 : Heb, i.
14. Abraham's bosom] The above

remark does not apply here— for this, as
a form of speech among the Jews, was
not even by themselves understood in
its strict literal sense; and though the
purposes of the parable require this, ver.
23, no one would think of pressing it into
a truth, but all would see in it the
graphic filling up of a state which in
itself is strictly actual. The expression
Abraham's bosom signified the happy ****
of Hades, where all the Fathers were
conceived as resting in bliss. No pre-

eminence is signified as in John xin. 23;
— all the blessed are spoken of as m
Abraham's bosom. See also John i. la-

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20—26.

ST. LUKE.

403

man also died, and was buried ; M and in v hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torments, and eeeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom. ** And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool
my tongue ; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But
Abraham said, Son, m remember that thou in thy lifetime mch.rt.x4.
wreceivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil
things : but now he is x comforted, and thou art tormented.
36 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed : 7 so that they which would pass from hence to

v literally, Hades. It is not the final place of torment
w render, receivedst in full.

x read, with all the ancient authorities, comforted here.

7 render, in order that.

The death of the rich man last
should he remarked; Lazarus was taken
soon from his sufferings; Dives was left
longer, that he might have space to
repent. and was hurled] There can

he no doubt that the funeral is mentioned
as being congruous to his station in life,
— and, as Trench observes, ' in a sublime
irony,'— implying that he had all things
properly cared for ; the purple and fine
linen which be wore in life, not spared at
his obsequies. 28. in Hades] Hades,

in Hebrew Sheol, is the abode of all dis-
embodied spirits till the resurrection ; not,
the place of torment, — much less hell, as
understood commonly, in the A. V.
Lazarus was also in Hades, but separate
from Dives ; one on the blissful, the other
on the baleful side. It is the gates of
Modes, the imprisonment of death, which
shall not prevail against the Church (Matt,
xvi. 18); — the Lord holds the key of
Hades (Rev. i. 18) :— Himself went into
the same Hades, of which Paradise is a
part. in torments — not eternal con-

demnation ;— for the judgment has not yet
taken place ; men can only he judged in
the body, for the deeds done in the body :
—but, the certainty and anticipation of it.

he lift up his eyes, not necessarily
to a higher place, though that may be
meant. 24.] " The proud man of

earth is the beggar in hell/' Augustine.

On Father Abraham see Matt. iii. 9.

this flame, not subjective (i. e. con-
fined to his own feeling) only, though
perhaps mainly. But where lies the limit
between inner and outer to the disem-
bodied ? Hardened sinners have died cry-
ing 'Fire!' — Did the fire leave them,

when they left their bodies?
25.] The answer is solemn, calm, and
fatherly ; — there is no mocking, as is found
in the Koran under the same circum-
stances; no grief, as is sometimes repre-
sented affecting the blessed spirits for the
lot of the lost. remember] Analogy

gives us every reason to suppose, that in
the disembodied state the whole life on
earth will lie before the soul in all its
thoughts, words, and deeds, like a map
of the past journey before a traveller.
That which he was to remember is not
sufficiently expressed by ' receivedst,' A. V. :
— it is analogous to the word in Matt. vi.
2, 5, 16, — and expresses the receipt in full,
the exhaustion of all claim on. Those

that were good things to thee, thy good
things came to an end in thy lifetime:
there are no more of them. What a

weighty, precious word is this thy : were it
not for it, De Wette and the like, who
maintain that the only meaning of the
parable is, ' Woe to the rich, but blessed
are the poor,' would have found in this
verse at least a specious defence for their
view. evil things— not, hit evil

things,— for to him they were not so.
comforted : see ch. vi. 24. 26.] Even

if it were not so, — however, and for what-
soever reason, God's decree hath placed
thee there,— thy wish is impossible.
a great gulf] In the interpretation, — the
irresistible decree — then truly so, but no
such on earth— by which tne Almighty
Hand hath separated us and you, in order
that, not merely so that, none may pass it.
In the graphic description, a yawning
chasm impassable. is fixed] for ever.

This expression precludes all idea that the
d 2

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404

ST. LUKE.

XVI. 27—81-

you ■ cannot ; neither can they pass to us, that would come
from thence. 27Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house :
*8 for I have five brethren ; that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come into this place of torment. *• u Abraham
saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let
them hear them. M And he said, Nay, father Abraham :
but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
81 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the

njohnxH.16, prophets, "neither will they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead.

• ***«^ XVII. i * Then said he unto the disciples, » It is im-

feft 10w" possible but that offences will come : but woe unto him,

through whom they come ! s It were better for him that

a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into

I render, may not be able : and that they may not.

II read, But Abraham. * render, And he said.

have rejected Him, had He done so;" —
the fact merely is here supposed, and that
in the very phrase which so often belongs
to His own resurrection. They were not
persuaded — did not believe, though One
rose from the dead. To deny altogether
this allusion, is to rest contented with
merely the surface of the parable.
Observe, Abraham does not say, ' they will
not repent' — but, ' they will not believe, be
persuaded:* which is another and a deeper
thing. Luther does not seem to con-

clude rightly, that this disproves the pos-
sibility of appearances of the dead. It
only says, that such appearances will not
bring about faith in the human soul : but
that they may not serve other ends in
God's dealings with men, it does not
assert. There is no gulf between the
earth and Hades: and the very form of
Abraham's answer, setting forth no impos-
sibility in this second case, as in the
former, would seem to imply its possi-
bility, if requisite. We can hardly pass
over the identity of the name Lazarus
with that of him who actually woe re-
called from the dead, but whose return,
far from persuading the Pharisees, was
the immediate exciting cause of their
crowning act of unbelief.

Chap. XVII. 1—10.] Further dis-
courses. The discourse appears to pro-
ceed onward from the foregoing.
1.] The words were perhaps spoken owing
to some offence which had happened ; — the
departure of the Pharisees in disgust, or
some point in their conduct; such as the

following verse indicates the beginning of
a better mind in the rich man.
87.] This is the believing and trembling
of James ii. 19. His eyes are now opened
to the truth; and no wonder that his
natural sympathies are awakened for his
brethren. That a lost spirit should

feel and express such sympathy, is not to
be wondered at; the misery of such will
be very much heightened by the awakened
and active state of those higher faculties
and feelings which selfishness and the
body kept down here. 89.] " Faith

is by hearing, and hearing by the word of
Christ," Rom. x. 17. " We are saved by
faithful hearing, not by apparitions." Ben-
gel. This verse furnishes a weighty tes-
timony from our Lord Himself of the suf-
ficiency then of the O. T. Scriptures for
the salvation of the Jews. It is not so now.
30, 31.] Way— not, ' they will not
hear them :' he could not tell that, and
besides, it would have taken away much of
the ground of the answer of Abraham : —
the word deprecates leaving their salvation
in such uncertainty, as the chance of their
hearing Moses and the prophets seems to
him to imply. — ' Leave it not so, when it
might be at once and for ever done by send-
ing them one from the dead.' Abra-

ham's answer, besides opening to us a
depth in the human heart, has a plain
application to the Pharisees, to whom the
parable was spoken. They would not hear
Moses and the Prophets :— Christ rose from
the dead, but He did not go to them ; —
this verse is not so worded, 'they would

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XVII. 1—9.

ST. LUKE.

405

the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

3 Take heed to yourselves: b If thy brother * trespass b J££ *▼»"•

him. 4 And if he D trespass against thee seven times in a

day, and seven times [* in a day] turn again to thee,

saying, I repent ; thou shalt forgive him. 6 And the

apostles said unto the Lord, • Increase our faith. 6 d And 45*£yjfc

the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, S^a.1**83'

ye might say unto this f sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up

by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should

obey you. 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing

or feeding cattle, will say unto him ff by and by, when he is

come from the field, Go and sit down to meat ? 8 And

will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I

may sup, and gird thyself, e and serve me, till I have eaten •oh.xti.ar.

and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?.

9 Doth he thank ^that servant because he did the things

* render, sin.

d omit.

' render, mulberry.

c omit, with nearly all the oldest authorities.
• better, because literally, Add unto US faith,
ff see note* n read, the.

previous chapter alluded to. 9.] See

Matt, xviii. Q, 7, and notes. these

little ones] Perhaps the publicans and
sinners of ch. xv. 1; perhaps also, re-
peated with reference to what took place,
Matt. 1. c. », 4.] See on Matt,

xviii. 15, 21, 22. The take heed to

yourselves here is to warn them not to be
too readily dismayed at offences, nor to
meet them in a brother with an unfor-
giving spirit. rebuke him] "Love
begins with speaking truth," Stier : — who
remarks, that in the Church, as in the
world, the love of many waxing cold, —
not being strong or warm enough for this
rebuke,— h the cause why offences abound.
5.] 'Increase our faith,' of the
A. V., is not exact : Add unto us, i.e. give
us more faith, is more literal and simpler.
This is the only example in the Gospels
in which the Apostles are marked out as
requesting or saying any thing to the Lord.
They are amazed at the greatness of the
faith which is to overcome offences and for-
give sins as in w. 8, 4: — and pray that more
faith may be added to them. 6.] See
on Matt. (xvii. 20) xxi. 21. On this occasion
some particular tree of the sort was close
at hand, and furnished the instance, just
as the Mount of Transfiguration in the
former of those passages, and the Mount
of Olives in the latter. The mulberry

tree is not very common in Palestine, but
still found there. It must not be con*
founded with the sycomore, ch. xix. 4,
which is the Egyptian fig. See note there.
7 — 10.1 The connexion is, — <Ye are
servants of your Master; and therefore
endurance is required of you, — faith and
trust to endure out your day's work be-
fore you enter into your rest. Your
Master will enter into His, but your time
will not yet come; and all the service
which you can meanwhile do Him, is but
that which is' your bounden duty to do,—
seeing that your body, soul, and spirit are
His.' 7.1 by and by (literallv, imme-

diately) in the A. V. is wrongly joined
with wiU say unto him: it corresponds to
" afterward" in ver. 8, and must be joined
with go and sit down. 8.] till I

have eaten and drunken: see ch, xii. 87,
where a different assurance seems to be
given. But our Lord is here speaking of
what we in our state of service are to
expect; there, of what, in our state of
freedom, reward, and adoption, the won~
dersofHis grace will confer on us. Here
the question is of right: there, of favour '.
9.] Our Lord is not laying down
rules for the behaviour of an earthly
master to his servants, — but (see above)
is speaking of the rightful state of relation
between us, and Sim whose we are, and

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406

ST. LUKE.

XVII.

that were commanded him ? [l J trow not.} 10 So likewise

ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are

fjobjnii.ii commanded you, say, We are 'unprofitable servants: we

ran*.* have done that which was our duty to do.

Bu£.iii.us U And it came to pass, «as he went to Jerusalem, that

•{ft&fjv.he J passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

*■ 12 And as he k entered into a certain village, there met him

hL*T.*iii.«L ten men that were lepers, h which stood afar off: 18 and

they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have

mercy on us. 14t And when he saw them, he said unto

^K'fVatt them, * Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came

tul4. «h.T. ^ pj^ {.j^ ^ they went, they were cleansed. 15And

one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned

back, * and with a loud voice glorified God, le and fell down

on his face at his feet, giving him thanks : and he was a

. Samaritan. *7 And Jesus answering said, m Were there not

* omitted by several ancient authorities.

k render, was entering.

1 render, glorifying God with a loud voice

m render, Were not the ten cleansed ?

J render, was passing.

whom we serve. 10.] This shews the

sense of the parable, as applying to our
own thoughts of ourselves, and the im-
possibility of any claim for our services to
God. In Rom. vi. 28 (see also the

foregoing verses) we have the true ground
on which we look for eternal life set
before us :— via. as the gift of God whose
servants we are, — not the wages, as in the
case of sin, whose we are not. In the case
of men this is different; a good servant is
"profitable" (Philem. 11), not useless.
8ee Acts xvii. 25. The case supposed

introduces an argument a fortiori, i. e.
from the stronger to the weaker: f how
much more, when ye have failed in so
many respects.' ' Wretched is he, whom
the Lord calls an unprofitable servant:
happy, he who calls himself so.' Bengel.
Thus closes the series of discourses
which began with ch. xv. 1.

11 —19.] Healing of ten lepebs. It
does not appear to what part of the last
journey this is to be referred. There is no
reason for supposing it to have been sub-
sequent to what has just been related : —
this is not implied. It may have been at
the very beginning of the journey. From
the circumstance that these lepers were a
mixed company of Jews and Samaritans,
the words rendered through the midst of
Samaria and Galilee, probably mean 'be-

tween Samaria and Galilee,' on the fron-
tiers of both. This seems to be parallel
with Matt. xix. 1. The journey mentioned
there would lead Him between Samaria
and Galilee. 12.] afar off: see Levit.
xtti. 46 : Num. v. 2. Their misery had
broken down the national distinction, and
united them in one company. On the
nature of leprosy and its significance, see
on Matt. viii. 2. 14.J One of our
Lord's first miracles had been the healing
of a leper; then He touched him and said,
< Be thou clean :' now He sinks as it were
the healing, and keeps it in the back-
ground;—and why so? There may have
been reasons unknown to us ; but one we
can plainly see, and that is, to bring out
for the Church the lesson which the his-
tory yields. In their going away, in the
absence of Jesus, they are healed : what
need to go back and give him thanks?
Here was a trial of their love : faith they
had, enough to go, and enough to be
cleansed: but love (with the one excep-
tion)— gratitude, they had not.
shew yourselves] See note on Matt. viii. 4.
as they want] The meaning evi-
dently is, that they had not gone far, and
that the whole took place within a short
time. They had not been to the priests,
as some suppose. 15.] The words here
set before us something immediate, and,

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10—24.

ST. LUKE.

407

Z.5S. ch.vii.
60i vlil.48:
xvlli. 42.

ten cleansed ? but where are the nine ? 38 There n are not

found that returned to give glory to God, save this

stranger. 19 k And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way : k}ft££v?l

thy faith hath made thee whole.

29 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when
the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and
said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
81 'neither shall they say, Lo here I or, [nnfo] there! for, iTer.a.
behold, the kingdom of God is ° ™ within you. 22 And he mjahm.ss.
said unto the disciples, n The days will come, when ye shall nSf M*tt*,x-
desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye
shall not see it. M ° And they shall say to you, P See here ;

. olUttrriv.
tlXurkxlU.

or, P see there : go not after them, nor follow them. ** p For pjji*t.ixiT.

17.

n render, were not found.
0 render, among you.

** omit : reading, Lo here or there !
P it it the same word as that rendered lo in ver. 21.

I should be inclined to think, witnessed by
the narrator. 18. this stranger]

literally, this foreigner by birth. The
Samaritans were Gentiles;— not a mixed
race, as is sometimes erroneously sup-
posed. They had a mixed religion, but
were themselves originally from other
countries : see 2 Kings xvii. 24 — 41. There
may have been a reason for the nine Jews
not returning, — that they held the cere-
monial duty imposed on them to be para-
mount, which the Samaritan might not
rate so highly. That be was going to
Mount Genzim does not appear : from his
being found with Jews, he probably would
act as a Jew. 19.] hath made thee

whole— in a higher sense than the mere
cleansing of his leprosy— theirs was merely
the beholding of the brazen serpent with
the outward eyes,— but his, with the eye of
inward faith; and this faith saved him; —
not only healed his body, but his soul.

20— i7.] Pbophetic answbb to the
Pharisees. In this discourse we have
several savings which our Lord afterwards
repeated in His last prophetic discourse to
the four apostles on Mount Olivet; but
much also which is peculiar to Luke, and
most precious. 80.1 The question

certainly is asked by the Pharisees, as all
their questions were asked, with no good
end in view: to entangle our Lord, or
draw from Him some direct announcement
which might be matter of accusation,
with (accompanied with) anticipa-
tion, or observation. The cognate verb
is used ch. xiv. 1 of the Pharisees 'watch-
ing'Jesus. 21.] Its coming shall be
so gradual and unobserved, that none
during its waxing onward shall be able to
point here or there for a proof of its

coming,— for behold the kingdom of God
it (already) among yon. The misunder-
standing which rendered these words * with-
in you * meaning this in a spiritual sense,
' in your hearts' should have been pre-
vented by reflecting that they are addressed
to the Pharisees, in whose hearts it certainly
was not. Nor could the expression in this
connexion well bear this spiritual meaning
potentially — i. e. is in its nature, within
your hearts. The words are too express
and emphatic for this. The kingdom of
God was begun among them, and continues
thus making its way in the world, without
observation of men ; so that whenever men
can say «lo here ! or, lo there !' — whenever
great ' revivals ' or ' triumphs of the faith *
can be pointed to, they stand self-con-
demned as not belonging to that kingdom.
Thus we see that every such marked event
in the history of the Church is by God's
own band as it were blotted and marred,
so as not to deceive us into thinking that
the kingdom has come. So it was at the
Pentecostal era:— so at that of Constan-
tino;—so at the Reformation. The
meaning * among you/ includes of course
the deeper and personal one ' within each
of you/ but the two cannot be interchanged
the one for the other. 22.] This say-
ing is taken up from the last verse.—' He
is among you, who is the Bridegroom, — the
Son of Man;' — during whose presence ye
cannot mourn, but when He shall be taken
from you, you shall wish in vain for one of
these days of His presence. 28. And
they shall say to you] ' Ye shall not see
one of those days ; — therefore do not run
after false reports of My coming.' A warn-
ing to all so-called expositors, and followers
of expositors, of prophecy, who cry " see

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408 ST. LUKE. XVII. 25—37.

as the lightning, 4 that lighteneth out of the one part under
heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven ; so shall

•STtaTtti ^^ t°e Son of man be in his day. ** 'But first must
«."• •hlx* he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

r SSiJSiiT. *6 r And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in

*' the days of the Son of man. 2? They did eat, they drank,

they married wives, they were given in marriage, until

the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came,

• a**, si*, and destroyed them all. M ■ Likewise also as it was in the
days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they

t«T"xlx'1* sold, they planted, they builded; 29 but * the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone
from heaven, and destroyed them all. 3° Even thus shall

itThtn.1.7. it be in the day when the Son of man uis revealed. S1 In

xfF\E&' *k** day, he x which shall be upon the housetop, and his

*u,•1*• stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away :

and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return hack.

yO0B.xit.fi. 82 j Remember Lot's wife. M * Whosoever r shall seek to

s Matt. x. Mi

Sail. "Si? save his life shall lose it; and whosoever ■ shall lose *his
asbtfuiv" ^fe 8"ia^ J1 preserve it. M aI tell you, in that night there
i%hit«.iT. shall be two men in one bed ; [v the] one shall be taken,
lf" and the other shall be left. 36 Two women shall be grind-

ing together; the one shall be taken, and the other

I our two oldest MSS. have, when it lighteneth.

r render, shall have SOUght. ■ render, shall have lost.

* read, it. u render, quicken.

here" and "see there,9* every time that pie before,— let him not return back-
war breaks out, or revolutions occur. remember her who did, S3.] See on
See on these verses, 28, 24, Matt. xxiv. Matt. x. 39, and ch. ix. 24. In connexion
23—27 and notes. 25—80.] The here, it leads the way to w. 34, 35.
events which must precede the coming : whosoever shall have sought, L e. ' during
and (1) ver. 25, as regards the Lord Him. his preceding life,' — shall lose it then :
*«{/",— His Bufferings and rejection, Dri- whosoever shall have lost it, by self-sacri-
marily by this generation, — but in lm- fice, during this life, shall quicken it then,
plication, by the world ;—-and (2) vv. 26— shall quicken it] "The verb in the
80, which unfold this implication as re- original is an expressive word, derived
garde the whole world, which shall be in from animal parturition, bringing forth to
its state of carelessness and sensuality at air and life what was before concealed in
that time , — see notes on Matt. xxiv. the womb. That day shall come as the
87—39. The example of the days of Lot pains of labour on a woman in travail
is added here, — and thereby the sanction (Matt. xxiv. 8) : but to the saints of God
of the Lord of Truth given to another it shall be the birth of the soul and body
part of the sacred record, on which modern to life and glory everlasting/' Wordsw.
scepticism has laid its unhallowed hands. 34 — 36.] See on Matt. xxiv. 40, 41.
81.] refers immediately to the ex- Here, there are two references (1) to the
ample of Sodom just related. In Matt, servants of the Lord in the midst of the
xxiv. 16 — 18, it finds its place by a refer- world out of which they shall be sepa-
ence to the destruction of Jerusalem, see rated : (2) to the separation of the faith-
there. ^ 38.1 A solemn caution is here ful and unfaithful among themselves.
added, binding the warning to the exam- 84.] indicates a closer relationship than

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XVIII. 1—4.

ST. LUKE

409

left. [v M 2W «**» *&*# 4* «i the field; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.'] 3? And they answered and said
unto him, b Where, Lord ? And he said unto
Wheresoever the body is, w thither will the eagles be
gathered together.

XVIII. 1And he spake a parable unto them to this
end, that *men ought a always to pray, and not to faint; •S.^m"1,
2 saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not
God, neither regarded man : 8 and there was a widow in
that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of
mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while : but
afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God,

v omitted in most of the ancient authorities. It was probably inserted here from
Matt. xxiv. 40.

w render and read, there will also. x read, they*

*nem, Matt>JtxlT.

zli.ll.
Eph.Tt.18.
Col. It. 1.

1 TlMW.T.17.

that of mere fellow-workmen, and seta
forth the division of even families in that,
day. 87.] Where, Lord f i. e. where

shall this happen 1 The disciples know
not the universality of this which onr Lord
is announcing to them, and which His
dark and awful saying proclaims; see note
on it, Matt. xxiv. 28. Observe, there

is not a word, except so far as the greater
coming includes the lesser, in all this, of
the destruction of Jerusalem. The future
coining of the Lord is the only subject :
and thus it is an entirely distinct discourse
from that in Matt, xxiv., or in our ch. zxi.
Chap. XVIII. 1—8.] Thb tthjust
judge. This parable, though not per-
haps spoken in immediate unbroken se-
quence after the last discourse, evidently
arose out -of it: — perhaps was the fruit of
a conversation with the disciples about
the day of His coming and the mind with
which they must expect it. For observe,
that in its direct application it is eccle-
siastical; and not individual, but by a
legitimate accommodation. The widow is
the Church; the judge, her God and
Father in heaven. The argument, as in
the parable of the steward of injustice (so
literally), so in this of the judge of injus-
tice (so literally), is " & fortiori, from the
stronger to the weaker :" ' If such be the
power of earnest entreaty, that it can win
right even from a man sunk in selfishness
and fearing neither God nor men, how
much more will the right be done by the
just and holy God in answer to the con-
tinued prayers of his elect;' even though,
when this very right is asserted in the
world by the coming of the Son of Man,

He may hardly And among his people the
power to believe it — though few of them
will have shewn this unweariedness of en-
treaty which the poor widow shewed.

L always] See 1 Thess. v. 17.
The mind of prayer, rather than, though
of course including, the outward act, is
here intended. The earnest desire of the
heart, is prayer. to faint; —to lan-

guish,—to give up through the weight
of overpowering evil. 8.] See Dent,

xvi. 18 and Matt. v. 21, 22.
8.] Avenge me of ... or perhaps, deli-
ver me from — the justice of her cause
being presupposed— this adversary being
her oppressor on account of her defence-
less situation, and she wanting a sen-
tence from the judge to stop his practices.
4.] The point of this part of the
parable is, the extortion of right from
such a man by importunity. Sis act was
not an act of justice, but of injustice; his
very avenging was injustice, because he
did it from self -regard and not from a
sense of duty. He, like the steward above,
was a man of injustice, — belonging to,
being of, the iniquity which prevails in
the world. 5.1 The word rendered

weary is a remarkable one. It properly
signifies to smite in the face; — and pro-
verbially (see reff.), to mortify or inces-
santly annoy. It is the same verb as that
in 1 Cor. ix. 27 rendered "keep under/9
Meyer interprets it literally — ' lest at last
she should become desperate, and come and
strike me in the face.' It has been ob-
served that the Apostles acted from this
very motive when they besought the Lord
to send away the Syrophcenician woman,—

Digitized by UOO

gle

410

ST. LUKE.

XVIII.

dHeb.x.87.
1 Pet. ill. 8,
0.

b ch. xi. s. nor regard man ; B b yet because this widow troubletk me,

I will avenge her, lest 7 by her continual coming she a weary
me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge

cRer.Ti.io. saith. 7 And c shall not God avenge his \?own\ elect,
which cry day and night unto him, b though he beat long
with them ? 8 1 tell you d that he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
c faith on the earth ? 9 d And he spake this parable unto

• ch.x.»; xri. certain which a trusted in themselves that they were righteous,
and despised others : 10 Two men went up into the temple
to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

II The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God,
I thank thee, that I am not as • other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 1 fast

7 render, coming for ever. a see note.

* omit : not expressed in the original.

D render and read, and he is long-suffering over them.

c or, the faith.

d better, as in the original, And he spake also unto certain which
trust in themselves that they are righteous and despise others, this
parable. e render, the rest of men.

* for she cried after them.9 Matt. xv. 23.
6. the unjust judge] literally (see
above) the judge of injustice— i. e. who
was of, belonged to, the unrighteousness
which is in the world. 7.J The poor

widow in this case (the forsaken Church,
contending with her adversary the devil,
1 Pet. v. 8) has this additional claim, in
which the right of her cause consists, —
that she is the Elect of God,— His Be-
loved, day and night] This answers
to the always in ver. 1, but is an ampli-
fication of it. and he is long-suirer-

ing over them] or, and He delays

his vengeance in their case:— and He, in
their ease, is long-suffering, i. e. He is
long-suffering to those who oppress them :
which though it is merciful to the op-
pressors, yet may be taken in the light of
a hardship to the oppressed. 8. Never-
theless . . . .] This can hardly be, as Meyer
interprets it, that the painful thought sud-
denly occurs to the Lord, how many there
will be even at His coming who will not
have received Him as the Messiah: for
the faith, though it includes ' faith ' gene-
rally, is yet here, strictly speaking, faith in
reference to the object of the parable —
faith which has endured in prayer without
fainting. Or the meaning may be general :
the faUh in Him, who is the hearer and
answerer of prayer.

9 — 14.]Thb Phabisbb abt> the Pub-
lican. This parable is spoken not to the
Pharisees, for our Lord would not in their
presence have chosen a Pharisee as an ex-
ample; nor concerning the Pharisees, for
then it would have been no parable — but
to the people, and with reference to some
among them (then and always), certain,
who trust in themselves that they are
righteous, and despise other men. The
parable describes an every-day occurrence :
the parabolic character is given by the con-
currence and grouping of the two, and by
the fact that each of these represents psy-
chologically a class of persons. 10, 11.1
The Pharisee stood (in the ordinary place)
and prayed thus with himself : — such
a prayer he would not dare to put up
aloud. The Church has admirably fitted
to this parable the declaration of thank-
fulness in 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10 (the two
being the Epistle and Gospel for the
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity), also made
by a Pharisee, and also on the ground
' that he was not as other men :' — bat
how different in its whole spirit and
effect! There, in the deepest humility,
he ascribes it to the grace of God that he
laboured more abundantly than they all ; —
yet not I, hut the grace of God that was
with me. 12. I fast twice in the
week] This was a volmntary fast, on the

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5—16.

ST. LUKE.

411

twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I * possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me ff a sinner. 14> I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified rather than the
other: ffor every one that exalteth himself shall
abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

15 And they brought unto him also n infants, that he
1 would touch them : but when his disciples saw it, they
rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called * them unto him, and
said, Suffer ^ little children to come unto me, and forbid

be fJobrxii.W.

Matt. Mill.

II. eb.xiv.
11. James
iv.C IPet.

' render, acquire.

n better, the (or, their) infants.

* render, for perspicuity, the infants.

Mondays and Thursdays; the only pre-
scribed fast in the year being the great
day of atonement, see Levit. xvi. 29 : Num.
xxix. 7. So that he is boasting of his
works of supererogation, I give tithes
of all] Here again, the law perhaps (but
compare Abraham's practice, Gen. xiv. 20 ;
and Jacob's, Gen. xxviii. 22) only required
tithe of the fruit of the field and the pro-
duce of the cattle : see on Matt, xxiii. 23.
Not all that I possess, which is an in-
correct rendering : but of all that I ac-
quire ; — of all my increase ; see Deut. xiv.
22. His speech shews admirably what his
trusting in himself was, 18.] alar off

— far from the Pharisee;— a contrast in
spirit to the other's thanks that he was
not as other men, is furnished by the poor
Publican in his humility acknowledging
this by an act. would not lilt up so

much aa his eyes unto heaven— another
contrast, — for we must here suppose that
the Pharisee prayed with all significance
of gesture, with eyes and hands uplifted
(see Matt. vi. 5). There is a slight but
true difference also in the original, in the
word rendered stood of the Pharisee —
• being put in position' (answering to ' being
seated ' of the other usual posture) and
standing of the publican, — coming in
merely and remaining, in no studied place
or posture. smote upon his breast]

See ch. xxiii. 48, "for sorrow of mind.
Where the pain is, there is the hand.'1
Bengal. The original is, to me the sinner.
But probably the article is only generic,
pointing him out as one of a class. It seems
to me that any emphatic comparison here
would somewhat detract from the solem-
nity and simplicity of the prayer. The de-
finite article rather implies, not comparison

£ literally, the sinner.

* render, might.

1 render, the little children.

with others, but intense self-abasement:
" sinner that I am." Nor are we to find
any doctrinal meanings in the word be
merciful (or, be propitiated). We know
of one only way, in which the prayer
could be accomplished : but the words here
have no reference to that, nor could they
have. 14.] The sense is, One re-

turned home in the sight of God with
his prayer answered, and that prayer had
grasped the true object of prayer, — the
forgiveness of sins (so that justified is in
the usual sense of the Epistles of St. Paul,
justified before God— see reff.), the other
prayed not for it, and obtained it not.
Thereforo he who would seek justification
before God must seek it by humility and
not by self-righteousness. every one

that exalteth himself has been illustrated
in the demeanour of the Pharisee ; — shall
be abased, in his failure to obtain justifica-
tion from God:— he that humbleth him-
self, in that of the Publican ;— shall be
exalted, in his obtaining the answer to his
prayer, which was this justification. Thus
the particular instance is bound up with
the general truth.

15—17.] Little childben bbotjght
to Cheist. Here the narrative of St. Luke
again rolls in with those of St. Matthew and
St. Mark, after a divergence of nearly nine
chapters, see note on ch. ix. 51.— Matt,
xix. 13-15 : Mark x. 13-16. The nor-
rative part of our text is distinct from
the two ; the words of our Lord are ver-
batim as Mark; see notes on Matthew.
The place and time indicated here are the
same as before, from ch. xvii. 11.
15.] also their infants; not the people
came only, but also brought their children.
Or, the article may be merely generic, as

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412 ST. LUKE. XVIII. 17 — £3.

9 1 SKull"* them no* : ^or f °f suc^1 ** ^°e l"ngdom of God. *7 Verily
I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom
of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? 19 And Jesus said
unto him. Why callest thou me good? none is good, save
one [m that is] , God. *° Thou knowest the commandments,
h 5E °o£t.1£ h Do no* commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do
iiil?" Bo"1* not bear false witness, * Honour thy father and thy mother.
cfiLiii.'*. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard [n these things], he said unto
k5?*Tta? him, Yet lackest thou one thing : k sell all that thou hast,
via®. ftn(j digtribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven : and come, follow me. M And when he heard
this, he was very sorrowful : for he was very rich. ** And
when Jesus ° saw that he was very sorrowful, he said,
How hardly P shall they that have riches enter into the
kingdom of God ! *• For it is easier for a camel to go
through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God. *6 And they that heard it said,
'feSSfc&Who then can be saved? *7 And he said, l The things
ch.Ltf. which are impossible with men are possible with God.
28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left * all, and followed
thee. 29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you,
There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or
brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's
mjobxiu.w. sake, so m who shall not receive manifold more in this
present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

81 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto

them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that

"f^Sm!" are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man

i2* & ii ^^ k° accon^ptished- 8S For n he shall be delivered

m omit. n omit. ° some ancient authorities read merely, saw him.

P some ancient authorities read, do they that have riches enter.

* the most ancient authorities read, our own [possessions] .

in A. Y. The ward used by St. Luke 81 — 84.] Fuller declaration of His

point* oat more distinctly the tender age of sufferings and death. Matt xx. 17

the children than that in Matthew and Mark. — 19. Mark x. 82 — 34. The narrative of

18—80.] Question of a bioh ruler: the journey now passes to the last section

OUB Lobd's answeb, and DIS00UB8E of U, — the going np to Jerusalem, pro-

thebbupon. Matt. xix. 16 — 30. Mark x. perly so called : that which in Matthew

17 — 81. The only addition in our nana- and Mark forms the whole journey. We

tire is that the young man was a ruler, — know from John xi. 64 that this journey

Srhaps of the synagogue : see notes on took place from Ephraim, a city near the

atthew and Mark. desert. 88.] The betrayal is omitted

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XIX. 1,8. ST. LUKE. 413

unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully
entreated, and spitted on : M and they shall scourge him,
and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise
again. MoAnd they understood none of these things : °{5jr5feI8S,-x
and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the ftxi°S! x"
things which were spoken.

85 And it came to pass, that as he was r come nigh unto
Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging :
36 and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it
meant. s? And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by. ^And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of
David, have mercy on me. 89And they which went
before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace : but he
cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. 4° And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be
brought unto him : and when he was come near, he asked
him, 4* saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee ?
And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. *• And
Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight : p thy faith hath p*.*?u.m.
■ saved thee. tt And immediately he received his sight,
and followed him, ** glorifying God: and all the people, qftJ-i*J,1it
when they saw it, gave praise unto God. xL18,

XIX. 1 And * Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
s And behold, [* there was\ a man named Zacchseus,

r render, coming.

■ or, made thee whole : it is the same word as in Matt. ix. 22 : Mark v. 34;
x. 52 : chap, xvii. 19. * render, he. * not in the original.

here, which is unaccountable if St. Lake fact that so many expressions are common
saw St. Matthew's account, as also the to Mark and Luke : compare the word-
omission of the crucifying, this being the ing of the two accounts. In Matthew of
first announcement of it; see a similar coarse they are in the plural, as he has
omission in ch. ix. 45. 84.1 Peculiar two blind men. 89.] they which
to Luke. none of these things— i. e. went before: in Matthew, uthe multitude "
neither the Sufferings nor the Resurrection, in Mark, «' many'* 48.] Peculiar
All was as yet hidden from them, and it (exeept followed him, which all three re-
seems not to have been till very shortly late) to St. Luke ;— his usual way of term!-
before the event itself that they had any nating such narrations, as it certainly was
real expectation of its happening. the result of such a miracle — see ch. xiii.
35 — 48.] Healing of a. bund icab 17 ; ix. 43 ; v. 26. He, of the three evan-
at the bntbabcb iwto Jbbioho. Matt, gelists, takes most notice of the glory
xx. 29 — 34 Mark x. 46—52, where see given to God on account of the miraculous
notes. I have on Matthew spoken of acts of the Lord Jesus,
the discrepancy of his narrative from the Chap. XIX. 1—10.] Zaccmus the
two others. The supposition that they publican. Peculiar to St. Luke, and indi-
were two miracles is perfectly monstrous ; eating that though in the main his narra-
and would at once destroy the credit of tive is coincident with, yet it is wholly
St. Matthew as a truthful narrator. If independent of those of St. Matthew and
further proof of their identity were want- St* Mark. 8.1 Zacchaus signifies in
ing to any one, we might find it in the Hebrew, ' pure ;' the name occurs in Ezra

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414

ST. LUKE.

XIX.

v which was the chief among the publicans, and he was
rich. s And he sought to see Jesus who he was ; and
could not for the w press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree
to see him : for he was to pass that way. 5 And when
Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and
said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;
for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made
haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And
when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, a That he
was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And
Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord,
the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have
taken any thing from any man by b false accusation, c I
J £S:Jii:« restore him fourfold. *And Jesus said unto him, This

* v „, . day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is

dch.x11i.lA. J ' .

* ffif ** xviU* a d son of Abraham. 10 a For the Son of man is come to seek

a Matt. lz. 11.
cfa.T.M.

b ch. ill. 14.
cExod.xxii. 1,

v literally, and he was.

ii. 9 : Neh. vii. 14 He was not a Gentile,
as Tertullian supposed, bnt a Jew, see
ver. 9. chief among the publicans]

Probably an administrator of the revenue
derived from balsam, which was produced
in abundance in the neighbourhood.
4. a sycomore tree] not what we know
by that name, but the Egyptian fig, a tree
like the mulberry in appearance, size, and
foliage, but belonging generically to the
fig-trees. It grows to a great size and
height. See on ch. xvii. 6. 5.] The

probability is, that our Lord's supernatural
knowledge of man (see John i. 48— 50) is
intended to be understood as the means of
his knowing Zacchaeus : but the narrative
does not absolutely exclude the supposition
of a personal knowledge of Zaochseus on the
part of some around Him. But of what
possible import can such a question be,
when the narrative plainly shews us that
Jesus saw into his heart? Cannot He
who knows the thoughts, call by the name
also? abide, probably over the night.

See John i. 40. I must— perhaps it

is my purpose, or even more, there is
necessity that I should ; for especially in
these last days of our Lord's ministry,
every event is fixed and determined by a
divine plan. 7.] The murmurers arc

Jews who were accompanying Him to
Jerusalem, on the road to which Zaochams's
house lay (see ver. 1). with a man

that is a sinner] His profession in life,
and perhaps an unprincipled exercise of his

render, multitude.

power in it, had earned him this name with
his fellow-countrymen. Compare his con-
fession in the next verse. ••] This
need not have taken place in the morning ;
much more probably it was immediate!/
on our Lord's entrance into the house,
while the multitude were yet murmuring
in the court, and in their presence. Our
Lord's answer, This day is salvation come
to this house, looks as if He were jnst
entering the house, not just leaving it ;
and the day meant must be the same with
that in ver. 5. stood and ssid has
something formal and predetermined abont
it : he stood forward, with some effort and
resolve : see on ch. xviii. 11 ff., where the
word used of the Pharisee is the same.
the half of my goods I give to the
poor] See note on ch. xvi. 9. Zacchams
may well have heard of that parable from
one of his publican acquaintances, or per-
haps repentance may have led him at onoe
to this act of self-denial. There is no
uncertainty in if I have taken any jMag.
the expression is equivalent to, wan**™*
I have unfairly exacted from cay man.
See note on ch. iii. 14. ••] £* ' *■'
nouncement is made to him, though not in
the second person. salvation] m the
stronger sense, bringing with iti w ii
blessings. is a son of Abraham,
though despised by the multitude, hsi i nw
rights as a Jew, and has availed taos**
them by receiving his Lord in ftitftj w«
humility. 10.] For, the gre»w

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3—16.

ST. LUKE.

415

and to save that which was lost. n And as they heard these

things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh

to Jerusalem, and because f they thought that the kingdom f^etai.*.

of God should immediately appear. 13 He said therefore,

A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for

himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called x his

ten servants, and delivered them ten 1 pounds, and said

unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 g But his citizens hated r johm.ii.

him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not

have this man to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass,

that when he was returned, having received the kingdom,

then he commanded these servants to be called unto him,

to whom he had given the money, that he might know

1 how much every man had gained by trading. lfl Then came

x render, his Own. 7 literally, milUB.

1 read and render, what business they had carried on.

journey to Jerusalem, undertaken as it had
been with such publicity, and accompanied

sinner he may have been, the more does
he come under the description of those
(sheep) whom the good Shepherd came to
seek and save (Matt. xv. 24).

11—87.] Pabablb op the minje, or
pounds. Peculiar to Luke. By the in-
troductory words, the parable must have
been spoken in the house of Zacchaus, i. e.
perhaps in the open room looking into the
court, where probably many of the mul-
titude were assembled. A parable very
similar in some points to this was spoken
by our Lord in His last great prophetic
discourse, Matt. xxv. 14 — 30. Many

modern Commentators maintain that the
two parables represent one and the same :
if so, we must at once give up, not only
the pretensions to historical accuracy on
the part of our Gospels (see ver. 11), but
all idea that they furnish us with the
words of our Lord any where: for the
whole structure and incidents of the two
are essentially different If oral tradition
thus varied before the Gospels were writ-
ten, in the report of our LorePs spoken
words, how can we know that He spoke
any thing which they relate f If the Evan-
gelists themselves altered, arranged, and
accommodated those discourses, not only
is the above the case, but their honesty is
likewise impugned. Besides, we shall

here find the parable, in its very root and
point of comparison, individual and dis-
tinct. Compare throughout the notes on

with such wonderful miracles, was for the
purpose of revealing and establishing the
Messiah's kingdom. 12.] The ground-

work of this part of the parable seems to
have been derived from the history of
Archelaus, son of Herod the Great. The
kings of the Herodian family made jour-
neys to Rome, to receive their " Kingdom"
On Archelaus's doing so, the Jews sent
after him a protest, which however was
not listened to by Augustus. The situa-
tion was appropriate; for at Jericho was
the royal palace which Archelaus had built
with great magnificence. 18. ten]

See on Matt. xxv. 1. The giving the mina
to each, is a totally different thing from
giving to one Jive, to another two, and to a
third one talent. The sums given are here
all the same, and all very small. The (Attic)
mina is ^ of a talent, and equal to about
£3 of our money. In Matthew the man
gives his whole property to his servants ;
here he makes trial of them with these
small sums (" a very Utile," see ver. 17).
14.] The nobleman, son of a king,
literally, one high born, is the Lord Jesus ;
the kingdom is that over his own citizens,
the Jews. They sent a message after
Him ; their cry went up to Heaven, in the
persecutions of his servants, Ac. ; we will
not have this man to reign over us. The
parable has a double import : suited both

Matthew. 11.] The distance of Jericho to the disciples (his own servants), and the
from Jerusalem was 150 stadia = 16 Eng- multitude (his citizens). 16.] what bul-
lish miles and 6 furlongs. that nets they had carried on: not, * what they
the kingdom of God should immediately had gained.' 16—88.] See on Matthew,
appear] They imagined that the present It is observable here, however, how exactly

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416 ST. LUKE. XIX.

the first, saying, Lord, thy * pound hath gained tea
b pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good

b£wLwl,1'servanti: hecause thou hast been h faithful in a very little,
have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second
came, saying, Lord, thy * pound hath c gained five D pounds.
19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five
cities. 2° And d another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is
thy * pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:

iM»tfcxxT.84. 21 'for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man:
thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest

ks s*m. i. ie. that thou didst not sow. 33 And he saith unto him, k Out
of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked ser-

im»u.xxv.w. vant. ! Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking
up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow :
23 wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the
bank, that at my coming I might have required *mine
own with usury? 2* And he said unto them that stood by,
Take from him the * pound, and give it to him that hath
ten D pounds. ^ And they said unto him, Lord, he hath

»*•£;»£ *en pounds. 2** [f For] I say unto you, m That unto every
S^u!i?* one which hath shall be given ; and from him that hath
not, even that he hath shall be taken away [fif from him] .
27 But fiffif those mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
2* And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascend-
ing up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when he
was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount
called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,

a literally, mina. b literally, minse.

0 render, made. It is not the same word as in ver. 16.

* read, the other. e render, it.

' omitted by the most ancient authorities. Probably inserted from Matt. xxv. 29.

£ omitted by many ancient authorities. £& read, these.

and minutely in keeping is every circnm- the parable, in surprise at such a decision :

stance. Thy pound hath gained ten then in ver. 26, the king answers them,

pounds; the humility with which this is 27.1 This command brings out both

stated, where no account of each man's own comings of the Lord, — at the destruction

ability is taken as in Matthew, and then the of Jerusalem, and at the end of the world :

proportion of the reward, — ton cities, — so for we must not forget that even now ' Re

according with the nature of what the is gone to receive a Kingdom and return :'

Prince went to receive, and the occasion of ' we see not yet all things put under His

his return. It has been shewn by feet.*

rabbinical citations that the Jews used the 28.] Not immediately after saying these

napkin, or handkerchief, for wrapping and things ; — see on ver. 5 : unless they were

keeping their money in. 26.] is pa- said in the morning on his departure,

renthetical, spoken by the standers-by in 29—38.] Triumphal bktsy zkto

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17—42. ST. LUKE. 417

30 saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the

which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon

yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.

81 And if any man ask you, why do ye loose him ? thus

shall ye say [* unto him], * Because the Lord hath need

of him. 82 And they that were sent went their way, and

found even as he had said unto them. M And as they

were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them,

Why loose ye the colt ? 8* And they said, J The Lord

hath need of him. 85 And they brought him to Jesus :

n and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set »ynai»i».

Jesus thereon. 86And as he went, they spread their

clothes in the way. 8? And when he was come nigh, even

now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole

multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God

with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had

seen; 88 saying, ° Blessed kbe the King that cometh frogf"^

the name of the Lord : p peace in heaven, and glory in the pS.u.14.

highest. 89And some of the Pharisees from among the Eph,il,w-

multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if

these l should hold their peace, q the stones m would imme- «ha.u.h.

diately cry out. 41 And when he was come near, he beheld

k omitted by many ancient authorities. * or, that : see on ver. 94.

i literally, that the Lord : see on ver. 81.

*■ or, is : not expressed in the original.

1 render, shall. m read, will.

Jerusalem. Matt. xxi. 1—9. Hark merely in their view a teacher (so is the

xi. 1 — 10. John xii. 12—19, where see word rendered *« master "), offended them,
notes. 37. the whole multitude 40.] A proverbial expression— bnt

of the disciples] In the widest sense ; probably not without reference to Habak-

it is equivalent to " the multitudes" Mat- kuk ii. 11.

thew. The " mighty work," which dwelt 41—44.] Our Lord weeps otbb

mostly on their minds, was the raising of Jerusalem. Peculiar (in this form) to

Lazarus, John xii. 17, 18 :— but as this Luke. 41.] Our Lord stood on the

perhaps was not known to St. Luke, we lower part of the Mount of Olives, whence

must understand him to mean, all that the view of the city even now is very

they had seen during their journey with striking. What a history of divine Love

Him. 88.] in heaven is equivalent and human ingratitude lay before him!

to in the highest, and was probably added When He grieved, it was for the

by them to fill out the parallelism. hardness of men's hearts : when He wept,

89, 40.] The Pharisees murmur : in Bethany and here, it was over the fruits

our Lord's reply. Peculiar to Luke, of sin. 42. J "Those who lament,"

89.] These Pharisees could hardly says Euthymius in reference to the un-

in any sense be disciples of Jesus. Their finished form of this sentence, " are in the

spirit was just that of modern Socinianism : habit of breaking off their sayings, by

the prophetic expressions used, and the reason of the vehemence of their affection."

lofty epithets applied to Him, who was Perhaps in the actual words spoken by the
Vol. I. El

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Google

418 ST. LUKE. XIX. 43—48

known, even thou, [a at least] in this [°thy] day, the things

which belong unto [n thy] peace . . . hut now they are hid

from thine eyes. tt For the days shall come upon thee,

■ in.xxiz.1 that thine enemies shall 'cast a trench about thee, and

4. Jer.vi.JL '

6.oh.«i.«>. compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

tl8KiiiRS1&.44and * shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy

uMitt.niT.t, children within thee; and "they shall not leave in thee

▼ D^ixM one s*one upon another; T because thou knewest not the

i pi! ft m. time of thy visitation. ** w And he went into the temple,

w John u. 14, a^ began to cast out them that sold [° therein] [Pand

xiw.w.7. them that boughf\^ ^saying unto them, *It is written,

7 jtr.Tii.ii. * My house is the house of prayer : but y ye have made it a

den of thieves. *7 And he taught daily in the temple.

* jSSJu.w* But zthe chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the

*iL*7' people sought to destroy him, tt and could not find what they

might do : for all the people r were very attentive to hear him.

XX. 1 And it came to pass, that on one of ■ those days,

as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the

gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him

*3£,f£-7: with the elders, 2 and spake unto him, saying, Tell us *by

n omitted by several of the oldest MSS.

0 omitted by many ancient authorities.

P omit, with many ancient authorities, and the express testimony of Origem,

* read, And my house shall be.

r literally, hung on him in hearing him. See Acts xvi. 14.

■ render, the.

Lord there may hare been an allusion to recognized, the time of thy visiting by Mo.

the name Jerusalem, which itself imports visitation is a word of ambiguous

the seeing of peace. even thou] or thou meaning, either for good or for evil. It

also, as well as these My disciples. 48.] brings at once here before us the coming

For contains the awful reason which there seeking fruit, ch. xiii. 7 — and the return-

was for the fervent wish just expressed : it ing of the Lord of the vineyard, ch. xx.

was the Lord's desire, because .... 16. It is however the first or favour-

a trench] Literally, a mound with palisades, able meaning of visitation, that is here

Josephus gives an account of its being prominent.

built. When the Jews destroyed this, 46, 46.1 Cleawsiitg of thb Temple.

Titus built a wall round them, — see Isa. See on Matt. xxi. 12, 13 : Mark xi. 16 —

xxix. 2, 8, 4,—to which our Lord here 17.

tacitly refers. 44.] The verb ren- 47, 48.] A general description of His

dered shall lay thee even with the ground employment during these last days, the

is used in two meanings .—-shall level particulars of which follow. It is rightly

thy buildings to the foundation, and however placed at the end of a chapter,

dash thy children against the ground, for it forms a close to the long section

thy children] Not infants merely ; wherein the last journey to Jerusalem has

the meaning is general. shall not been described.

leave in thee one stone upon another] Chap. XX. 1-8.] His authority

See Matt. xxiv. 2 and note there. questioned. His bxplt. Matt. xxi.

because thou knewest not ] Not, 23—27. Mark xi. 27—33, where see notes.

* because of thy sins and rebellions /'—those (The history of the fig-tree is not in our

might be all blotted out, hadst thou known, text.) L] the days, via. of this His

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XX. 1—17. ST. LUKE. 419

what authority doest thou these things ? or who is he that
gave thee this authority ? 8 And he answered and said
unto them, I will also ask you one thing ; and answer me :

4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men ?

5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall
say, Prom heaven ; he will say, Why [* then] believed ye
him not ? 6 But [u and] if we say, Of men ; all the people

will stone us: bfor they be persuaded that John was a b J**^5-

prophet. 7 And they answered, that they could not tell

whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell

I you by what authority I do these things. 9 Then began

he to speak to the people this parable ; c A [* certain] man •Sj&Si'i!8'

planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and

▼ went into a Jar country for a long time. 10 And at the

season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they

should give him of the fruit of the vineyard : but the

husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. n And

again he sent another servant: and they beat him also,

and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

12 And again he sent a third : and they wounded him also,

and cast him out. 1S Then said the lord of the vineyard,

What shall I do ? I will send my beloved son : it may be

they will reverence him [wwhen they see him]. w But

when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among

themselves, saying, This is the heir : [x come,] let us kill

him, that the inheritance may be out's. 15 So they cast

him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore

shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them ? 16 He shall

come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the

vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said,

7 God forbid. 17 And he beheld them, and said, What is

* omit. * not in the original.
▼ the original ha* only, left the country.

w omitted by many ancient authorities, but perhaps ae not being expressed in
Matthew and Mark.

* omit. J literally, Let it not be.

being in Jerusalem. * 9.] or — that is, chief priests and scribes. Bengel suggests

"to speak more definitely." that He addressed it to the people, to

9 — 19.] Pabablb of thb viiteyabd guard against interruption on tne part of
lbt out to HU8BAHDMBN. Matt. xxi. the chief priests. 14. when the hns-

88—46. Mark xii. 1 — 12. See notes on bandmen saw him] This is taken np from
Matthew for the sense ; and for compari- when they see him of the verse before, and
son of the reports, on Mark. 9.] The is emphatic— On the contrary, when they

parable was spoken to the people— but saw him .... 17.] The then infers

(tot. 19) at, with reference to, against the the negation of Let it not bt—'Eow then,

£ i 2

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420 ST. LUKE. XX.

dPs.oiYiiLM. this then that is written, dThe stone which the builders
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
18 Whosoever ■ shall fall upon that stone shall be broken ;

• Du.u.Hai.bnt con whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to
powder. 19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same
hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the
people : for they perceived that he had spoken this parable
against them.

20 And they watched him, and sent forth a spies, which
should .feign themselves just men, that they might take
hold D of his words, that so they might deliver him unto
c the power and authority of the governor. 21 And they
asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and
teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any,
but teachest the way of God truly : 2* Is it lawful for us to
give tribute unto Csesar, or no ? ^ But he perceived their
craftiness, and said unto them, [°° Why tempt ye mef\
24 Shew me a d penny. Whose image and superscription
hath it ? They answered and said, Caesar's. 25 And he
said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things
which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be
God's. 26 And they could not take hold • of his words
before the people : and they marvelled at his answer, and
held their peace.

fActoxxiu.* 27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, 'which
deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

»D«ut.xxT.5. 23 saying, Master, * Moses wrote unto us, If any man's
brother die, having a wife, and he f die without children,
that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed
unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren :

1 render, hath fallen. * tee note. D render, of him by a word.

c render, the ruling power, and unto the authority. ** omit.
d render, denarius. • read, of the saying. f read, be.

supposing your wish to be fulfilled, could chief priests. The A.V., in rendering

th\s which is written come to pass V hii words, has mistaken the construction

19. and they feared the people] The of the clause. It is, that they might lay

copula, and, introduces the state of mind hold of him by some saying ; "catch him

in which this their attempt was made: fa a word," as 8t» Mark, unto the ruling

and they did so in fear of the people. (Roman) power (genus), unto the authority

20—26.] Rbplt concerning the of the governor (species). The form of

lawfulness of tbibute to Cjssar. the sentence in the original renders the

Matt. xzii. 15—22. Mark xii. 13 — 17, separation of the two necessary,

where see notes as before. 20.] Spies: 27—40.] Reply to the Sadducees

literally, men suborned, instructed and respecting the resurrection. Matt.

arranged for that purpose. that they xzii. 23—33 ; Mark xii. 18—27, and notes,

might . . . .] they, not the spies, but the 29.] therefore : i. e. wall then-
Digitized by VjOOQIC

18—40. ST. LUKE. 421

and the first took a wife, and died without children.
30 And the second [* took her to wife, and he died child-
less.] S1 and the third took her; and in like manner the
seven also [*; and they] left no children, and died.
82 Last of all the woman died also. M Therefore in the
resurrection whose wife of them i is she ? for J seven had
her to wife. M And Jesus p* answering] said unto them,
The k children of this world marry, and are given in
marriage : 8* but they which * shall be accounted worthy
to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead,
neither marry, nor are given in marriage : 36 m neither
can they die any more: for hthey are equal unto the*"*""",
angels; and are n the children of God, ! being n the children iA^Yiii. ta
of the resurrection. 8? Now that the dead are raised,
keven Moses shewed * at the bush, Viohen he called thekBiod.m.«.
Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. 88 * For he is not a God of the dead, but of
the living : ^or all live unto him. 89 Then certain of the >5»*n
scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. *° M And
after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

& omitted by many ancient authorities. n omit.

i read and render, doth the woman become ?

J render, the seven. k literally, sons.

1 render, have been. m render, for neither.

n render, sons. ° render, in the history concerning the bush.

P render, how. 4 render, But. M read, For.

'as an example of this law, . . . .' essentially partaken of the divine nature,

$4, 86.] Peculiar to Luke, and im- and so cannot die.' When Meyer says

portant. For this present state of men, that the Lord only speaks of the risen, and

marriage is an ordained and natural thing ; has not here in His view the 'quick' at the

bnt in "that world," which is by the con- time of His coming, it must he remem-

text the state of the first resurrection bered that the ' change ' which shall pass

(nothing being said of the rest of the dead, on them (1 Cor. xv. 51—54) shall put them

though the barefoot might be predicated into precisely the same immortality as the

of them also), they who are found worthy risen (compare ibid. ver. 42). 87.]

to obtain that state of life and the resur- Hoses, i. e. that very Moses, whom you

rection from the dead, are no longer under allege as showing by inference the con-

the ordinance of marriage : for neither can trary. 88.] On all live unto him see

they any more die ; i. e. they will have no on Matt. w. 31— 33 : but we have in this

need of a succession and renewal, which is argument even a further generalization

the main purpose of marriage. 86.] than in Matthew and Mark. There, it is

The fact, that they are equal unto the a covenant relation on which the matter

angels, is alleged, not as shewing them to rests : here, a life of all, living and dead,

be without passions or lusts, but as setting in the eight of God,— bo that none are

forth their immortality. sons of God annihilated,— but in the regard of Him

is here used, not in its ethical eenee, as who inhabiteth Eternity, the being of all

applied to believers in this world, — but its is a living one, in all its changes.

metaphysical sense, as denoting the essen- 89, 40.] Peculiar to Luke;— implied how-

tial state of the blessed after the resurrec- ever in Matthew ver. 84, and Mark ver.

tion:— 'they are, by their resurrection, 28.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

422 ST. LUKE. XX. 41—47.

4,1 And lie said unto them, How say they that Christ is
David's son ? ** and David himself saith in the book of
mpu.a.i. Psalms, m The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my
right hand, tt till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
** David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his
son?

45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto
nibttzziu. T fa disciples, ^"Beware of the scribes, which desire to
och.xLu. walk in long robes, and Move greetings in the markets,
and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief
■ rooms at feasts; *7 which devour widows' houses, and for
a * shew make long prayers : the same shall receive greater
damnation.

XXI. l And he looked up, and saw u the rich men
easting their gifts into the treasury. a And he saw also a
certain poor widow casting in thither v two mites. s And

* soar. thus, he said, Of a truth I say unto you, * that this poor widow

hath cast in more than they all : 4 for all these have of
their abundance cast in unto the offerings [w of God] : but
she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
6 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned

r ready them. ■ render, places.

* render, pretence, as in Matt, xxvii. 14, Mark xii. 40, where the original
word is the same as here.

• * render, rich men who were casting. v see note.
w omitted by some ancient authorities.

41 — 44.] Question bbbpeoting gelist's narrative: but surely not, when

Cheist and David. Matt. xxii. 41 — 46 ; they are in a discourse of our Lord. If

Mark xii. 85—87, where see notes. St. His words were so loosely reported as this,

Luke omits the question of the lawyer, where is any dependence on the accuracy

which occurred immediately on the gather- of the Evangelists ?

ing together of the Pharisees after the last 45—47.] Denunciation of the

incident. This question of our Lord seems Scbibbb. Matt, xxiii. 6, 7. Mark xii.

to have followed close on that, which (and 88—40, with which latter our text almost

not that in w. 27 ff. here) was their last verbally agrees : see notes there.

to Sim, Mark xii. 84. 41.] unto them, 46.] This particular, in the audienee of all

i. e. the Scribes. The same thing is Big- the people, is only in Luke,

nified by "How say the Scribes V in Chap. XXI. 1—4.] The widow's

Mark. In Matthew the question is addressed mites. Mark xii. 41 — 44, where see notes,

to the Pharisees. I mention these things L looked up] Our Lord as yet has

as marks of the independence of the ac- been surrounded with His disciples (see

counts. The underlying fact is, tbe fiord ch. xx. 46), and speaking to them and the

addressed the Pharisees and Scribes on a multitude. He now lifts up His eyes, and

view which they (the Scribes, the Pharisees sees at a distance, Ac.

agreeing) entertained about tbe Messiah. 5 — 86.] Peophecy of his covnro,

Hence the three accounts diverge. and of the times of the end.

42.] On in the book of Psalms, Wordsw. Matt. xxiv. 1-61 (xxv. 1—46). Mark

Says, " added here as conveying information xiii. 1 — 87. See notes on both, but espe-

necessary to Gentile readers."' This might cially on Matthew. Meyer says truly,

be well, did the words occur in the Evan- that there is no trace in Luke of the dis-

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XXI. 1—12.

ST. LUKE.

423

with goodly stones and x gifts, he said, 6 \J As for] these

things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which

b there shall not he left one stone upon another, that shall boh.xu.4*.

not be thrown down. 7 And they asked him, saying,

Master, but when shall these things be ? and what s sign

will there be when these things * shall come to pass ?

8 And he said, cTake heed that ye be not deceived: fore5ft£j*u.i.

many shall come in my name, saying, I am [* Christ] ;

and, The time draweth near : go ye not [• therefore] after

them. 9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions,

be not terrified : for these things must first come to pass;

but the end is not d by and by. 10 Then said he unto

them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom

against kingdom : n and great earthquakes shall be in

divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful

sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

12 d But before all • these, they shall lay their hands on you, dBey.ii.io.

and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues,

x render, offerings.
1 render, will be the sign.
D not expressed in the original.
c omit.

• better, these things.

y not expressed in the original.

* render, are about to.

Setter perhaps, I anj. he.

, immediately.

coarse being delivered on the Mount of
Olives — bat he adds, that it belongs to
the discourses in the temple, which begin
ch. zx. 1, and that therefore St. Lake
alone mentions the offerings. He seems to
have overlooked the break at ver. 7, cor-
responding to the change of scene. All
three speak of the opening incident as
happening while He was departing from
the temple; and St. Matthew and St. Mark,
of the enquiry being made afterwards, on
the Mount of Olives, — i. e. in the evening,
when he had retired thither (ver. 37).
5.] The offerings were many and precious.
Tacitus calls it "a temple of immense
opulence :" and Josephus gives an account
of the gilding, and golden vines (presented
by Herod the Great) with bunches of
grapes as large as a man, Ac. in the
temple. 7.] That St. Luke's account

alone gives us no trace of a different scene
or a different auditory, is a proof of its inde-
pendence of the others : for how could any
rational writer have omitted so interesting
a matter of accurate detail, if he had been
aware of it ? but when] Their question
begins with "but," on account of what our
Lord had said, ver. 6. 8.] The time

draweth near, i. e. the time of the King-
dom. They are the words, not of our Lord,
but of the many just mentioned : see on
Matthew, verses 4* 5. 10.] Then said

he unto them perhaps implies a break in
the discourse, which the other reports do
not notice. 19.] Why the words be-

fore all these things should have made any
difficulty, I am at a loss to imagine. The
prophecies of w. 7, 8 in Matthew, — ver. 8
in Mark, —and w. 10, 11 here, are a paren-
thetical warning of what shall happen
before the end. And then having stated*
that these things shall be the very begin-
ning of the actual pangs themselves (see
note on Matthew), the prophetic chrono-
logy is resumed from " the end is not yet,"
in all three accounts; here, by distinct
statement, But before all these wings: in
Mark by implication, "But take ye heed to
yourselves," by which "but" the follow-
ing words are thrown back to the " Take
heed" before: — in Matthew, by the gather-
ing up of the parenthetical announcements
as "all these things/' and thus casting
them off, as the "beginning of pangs"
belonging to the "end," before the dis-.
course proceeds with the "then" taken

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424 ST. LUKE. XXI.

# fs^xu'ii *' an^ '^ prisons, r being brought before kings and rulers
fA&Sr.H. 'for my name's sake. u And * it shall turn to you for a
ErhnVsi testimony. l4,i Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to
IX*£iJn!' meditate before what ye shall answer: 16 for I will give
kAct.Yi.io. you a mouth and wisdom, k which all your adversaries
i nieaiivis.il shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. 16 l And ye shall be
* betrayed % both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks,
mAetsru.Ni and friends ; and m some of you shall they * cause to he
nxatt.x.11. put to death. l7 And nye shall be hated of all men for my
oMtM, name's sake. lSoiBut there shall not an hair of your
head perish. 19 In your patience k possess ye your souls.
80 And when ye shall see Jerusalem l compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the moun-
tains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart
out; and let not them that are in the m countries enter
pjii.^ thereinto. 22 For these be the days of vengeance, that p all
*• things which are written may be fulfilled. ** [n Buf) woe

unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck,
in those days : for there shall be great distress ■* in the
land, and wrath ° upon this people, u and they shall fall

f better, as the same word in ver. 12, delivered up.

% render, even. * render, put to death. See on Mark riii. 12.

i render, And. k read and render, ye shall acquire.

1 render, being Compassed. m render, fields.

* omit. &n render, On the earth. • render, for.

up from tot. 6. The whole difficulty has pawed graphically sets forth the scene
arisen from not rightly apprehending the now before them, as it should then sp*
force of the word pangs as the death- pear. On the variation of expression from
throes of the end. 13. J for a testimony, Matthew and Mark, see note on Matthew,
vis. of your faithfulness, and (Mark) against ver. 15. 21.] of it belongs to the " of
them. 16.] Lake only. Gainsay cor- it" (tAereo/) of ver. 20, and signifies not "of
resnonds to month, resist to wisdom. Jodea," but " of Jerusalem." the neldj
16.] even by . . . 'not only by strangers/ —not " the countries," or " the provinces?
Bengel. some of yon — i. e. of the It is in the original the same word as our
Apostles. One of the four who heard this Lord uses in John iv. 35, where He com*
discourse was put to death, Acts xii. 2. mands His disciples to lift np their eyes on
18.] Not literally, but really true ; not cor- the fields. 22.] vengeance ; from this
poreally, but in that real and only life which being the same word in the Greek, it is *
the disciple of Christ possesses. 19.] In hint perhaps at ch. xviii. 8. The latter part
your patience (i. e. by your endurance of all of the verse alludes probably to the pro-
these things) ye shall acquire (not, possess, phecy of Daniel, which St. Luke has omitted,
which is an ungrammatical rendering) but referred to in "the desolation thereof,
your souls : this endurance being God's ver. 20. 23.] on the earth, general-
appointed way, in and by which your for this people, particular. The distress
salvation is to be put in your possession, on all the earth is not so distinctly ^e
acquire, as "find, ,rMatt. xvi.25— result of the divine anger, as tbst which
"save," ch. ix. 24. 20.] being oom- shall befall this nation. 24.] A most

Digitized by VjOOQIC

13—35. ST. LUKE. 425

by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive
into all . P nations : and Jerusalem * shall be trodden down
'of the • Gentiles, « until the times of the 'Gentiles be «!£*!*■&.
fulfilled. 26 'And there shall be signs in the sun, and inMP^ui.io.
the moon, and in the stars ; and upon the earth distress of
nations, * with perplexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ;
26 men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. &7 And then shall they
seethe Son of man •coming in a cloud with power and ■ »**•«• 7: iir.
great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for tyour t*ymTUI-1*
redemption draweth nigh. 20 And he spake to them a
parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 3° when
they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves
that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye,
when ye see these things u come to pass, know ye that the
kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 82 Verily I say unto
you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be ful-
filled. 8S Heaven and earth shall pass away : but my
words shall not pass away. ** And ° take heed to your- uf?£iIT 6**
selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with 1Ptt-lT-7-
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so
that day come upon you ▼ unawares. ** For Tas a snare TiTh«j,T.«.
shall it come on all them that w dwell on the face of the ^Sjit*1

P render, the nations. * render, shall remain trodden down.

r *.e. by. ■ literally, nations.

t render, in despair at the roaring of the sea and the waves.

* render, coming.

y many ancient authorities read, unawares as a snare. For it shall
come on all them . . •
w literally, sit.

important addition, serving to fix the tion; — the great rejection of the Lord

meaning of the other two Evangelists, — by the Gentile world, aneweriny to its

see notes there,— and carrying on the type, Si» rejection by the Jew*, being

prophetic announcements past our own finished, the time shall come, of which

times, even close to the davs of the end. the destruction of Jerusalem was a type.

they, viz. this people. shall Timet has the same meaning as time :

remain trodden down — see Rev. zi. 2. — no essential difference is to be insisted on.

The present state of Jerusalem. The con- It is plural, because the Gentiles (nations)

atruction of the verb in the original is are plural : each Gentile people having in

unusual, and is made use of to signify a turn its time. 25, 26.] The greater

state of duration,— a condition which shall part of these signs are peculiar to Luke,

continue. The times of the Gentiles 28.] your redemption, L e. the oom-

are the end of the Gentile dispensation,— pletion of it by My appearing,

just as the time of Jerusalem was the 84—86.] Peculiar to Luke. 84.] your-

end, fulfilment, of the Jewish dispensa* selves and your are emphatic, recalling

Digitized by VjOOQIC

426 ST. LUKE. XXI. 36—38.

w«k.sttu.i. whole earth. M Watch ye x therefore, and wp»y always,
that ye may ** be accounted worthy to escape all these

* Jt vl **• things that J shall come to pass, and * ■ to stand before the

Son of man.

37 And * in the day time he was teaching* in the temple;

jtk.xxu.rn. and y mat night he went out, and abode in the mount that

is called the mount of Olives. M And all the people came

early in the b morning to him in the temple, for to bear

him.

XXII. l Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh,

• pi.il i which is called the Passover. * And • the chief priests and

John xL. 47. *

Act. ir. it. geribeg sought how they might kill him; for they feared
the people. s • Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed
Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he
went his way, and communed with the chief priests and
captains, how he might d betray him unto them. 5 And
bz«ch.ri.ii. they were glad, and * covenanted to give him money.
6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to d betray him

* read, But watch ye.

** many ancient authorities, for "be accounted worthy/' read\ be able.

7 render, are about to. ■ literally, to be set

* literally, during the days . . . during the nights.

D better, mornings : *ee above.

6 better, And Satan entered. "Then" is not temporal.

* render, deliver him up.

the thoughts to themtelve*, after the re- Jesus. Matt. xxvi. 1—5. Mark xnr.

counting of these outward signs. 1, 2. The account of St. Matthew is the

3d.] There is meaning in sit; on them fullest;— see notes there. The words here

who are sitting seourely. 86.] to he give us a mere compendium of what took

set, i. e., by the angel* — see Matthew, ver. place.

31— before the gloriHed Son of Man. 3—6.] Compact of Judas ▼"?

87,38.] Peculiar to Luke. These verses thbm to bbtbat Him. Matt xxn*

close the scene of our Lord's discourses in 14—16. Mark ziy. 10, 11. Our account

Jerusalem which began ch. xx. 1. It does is strikingly peculiar and independent of

not appear, that St. Luke believed our the others. The expression Satan entered

Lord to have taught after this in the into Judas is found in John xiii. 27,—*^

temple. Nothing is said to imply it— certainly in it* proper place. Satan bad

a general closing formula like this applies not yet entered into Judas,— only (John

to what ha* been related. 88.] xiii. 2) put it into his heart to betray our

St. Luke relates nothing of any visits to Lord. 4.] and captains is pocnbar

Bethany. He has the name, incidentally to Luke : the others have merely the ckty

only, in ch. xix. 29 and ch. xxiy. 60, where priett*. On the office, see Acts it. L

see note. On the whole question The Levities! guard of the temple wouM

regarding the history of the woman taken be consulted, because, it had been of »w

in adultery, which some of our MSS. in- especially in the temple that our Lord bad

sort here, compare notes, John viii. 1 ff. become obnoxious to them (see ver. 63 and

This certainly would seem a more appro- ch. xxi. 87, 88). The words covenanted

Eriate place for it, than that which it now and promised here seem clearly to.imffi

olds. that the money was not now paM> **

Chap. XXII. 1* 2.] Conspiracy op afterward*, when the treachery was *c-

thb Jewish afthobitibs to kill complished;— see note on Matt, xxvl 1*

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XXII. 1—16. ST. LUKE. 427

unto them • in the absence of the multitude. 7 f fken
came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must
be killed. 8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and
prepare us the passover, that we may eat. 9 And they
said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare ? 10 And
he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the
city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of
water ; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The
Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where
I shall eat the passover with my disciples ? 12 And he
shall shew you a large upper room AT furnished: there
make ready. 1S And they went, and found as he had said
unto them : and they made ready the passover. 14 And
when the hour was come, he sat down, and the [* twelve]
apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With
desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I
suffer : 16 for I say unto you, I will not p any more'] eat

• or, without tumult.

* better (see on wr. s), Now the day of unleavened bread came.
% i.e. spread for the feast.

k omitted by some of the oldest authorities,

i omit, with the most ancient authorities. See Mark xiv. 25.

The concluding words of the verse 11.] The "goodman of the house" was a

may bear either the meaning in the text man of some wealth, and could not be

or that in the margin. identical with the water-carrier (see notes

7 — 14.] Pbepabation fob cele- on Matthew). The Greek word ren-

bbatiko tb?b Pasboveb. Matt. xxvi. dered guestehamber is not here, as in

17 — 19. Mark xiv. 12 — 16. Onr account ch. ii. 7, an inn, but a room set apart at

is the fullest of the three, related however this season of the feast, by residents in

nearly to St. Mark's. By came we must Jerusalem, in which parties coming from

of course understand that the day was come, the country might eat the Passover. The

not, as some would interpret it, was at question therefore would be well under-

hand.— On this* whole subject see notes on stood; — and the room being spread, and

Matt. xxvi. 17, and John xviii. 28. when as Mark adds, "prepared" would be no

the passover must be killed literally, saeri- matter of surprise. 14.] The hour

need), i. e. the legal time of the Passover was evening ; see above on ver. 10, and

being sacrificed. So the narrators in the Matt. xxvi. 20.

three Gospels evidently intend. 8.] 15—18.] Peculiar to Luke. The desire

It was a solemn message, and for it were of our Lord to eat this His last Passover

chosen the two chief Apostles. In may be explained from ch. xii. 50: not

the report of St. Matthew, the suggestion merely from his depth of love for His dis-

is represented as coming from the disciples ciples, though this formed an element in it,

themselves. 9.1 The question, Where — see John xiiL 1 sq. The for in ver. 16

wilt thoul was asked, but only in reply gives us the leading reason. This is

to the command of our Lord. 10.J the only instance in the Gospels, of the

There can, I think, be no question that absolute use of suffer, as in the Creed,

this direction was given in super-human 'He suffered.' We have several times

foresight, just as that in ch. xix. 30 : — see " suffer many things" ch. ix. 22 ; zvii. 25 ;

also 1 Sam. x. 2—8, and Matt. xvii. 27. Matt, xvi.21 al. j "suffer these things," ch.

This person carrying water would probably xxiv. 26, and " thus to suffer" ditto ver.

be a slave, and the time, towards evening, 46. 16.] The full meaning of this

the usual hour of fetching in water. declaration is to be sought in the words

Digitized by VjOOQ

428

ST. LUKE.

XXII.

•ft*yV iM&e0/* c^ntil it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take
this, and divide it among yourselves: 18for I say unto
you, I will not k drink of the fruit of the vine, until the
kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and
gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying',

dicor.xi.i4. This is my body which is given for you: d this do1 in

e 1 Cor. x. 10.
fP».xlLS.

ffAettlLM:

remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup
supper, saying, eThis cup w the new testament in

after

my
blood, which is shed for you. 21 f But, behold, the hand of
him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 u And
truly the Son of man goeth * as it was determined : bnt
woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed ! ** And they
began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was

J read, it. k read, [henceforth] drink.

1 the Vatican MS. hat, as a remembrance. u read, Because.

thil passover. It was thai particular
Passover, not merely the Passover gene-
rally,— though of course that also, — that
was to receive its fulfilment in the king-
dom of God. And to this fulfilment our
Lord alludes again in ver. 30. It is to this
marriage supper of the Lamb, that the para-
ble Matt. xiii. 1 — 14 in its ultimate appli-
cation refers: nor can we help thinking
on the faithless Apostle at this very sapper,
in verses 11 — 13 there : — see notes on that
place. 17.] Some suppose that it is

here implied that our Lord did not drink
of the cup Himself. But surely this can-
not be so. The two members of the speech
are strictly parallel : and if He desired to
eat the Passover with them, He would
also drink of the cup, which formed a usual
part of the ceremonial. This seems to me
to be implied in " He took the cup," where
the original has a different word from that
used by all afterwards, when He did not
partake of the bread and wine. This
most important addition in our narrative,
amounts, I believe, to a solemn declaration
of the fulfilment of the Passover rite, in
both its usual divisions, — the eating the
flesh of the lamb, and drinking the cup of
thanksgiving. Henceforward, He who
fulfilled the Law for man will no more
eat and drink of it. I remark this, in
order further to observe that this division
of the cup is not only not identical with,
but has no reference to, the subsequent
one in ver. 20. That was the institution
of a new rite; — this the abrogation of an
old one, now fulfilled, or about to be so, in
the person of the true Lamb of God.
This is generally supposed to have been the

first cup in the Passover-meal, with which
the whole was introduced. On the

possible connexion of this speech of our
Lord with the celebration of the Passover
at this particular time, see note on Matt,
xxvi. 17 (p. 183, ooL 2). After these

verses, in order of time, follows the washing
of the disciple's feet in John xiii. 1 — 20,
referred to in our ver. 27.

19, 20.] Institution op the Lobb's
Suppeb. Matt. xxvi. 26—29. Mark xiv.
22—24. 1 Cor. xi. 22—25. See notes on
Matthew. 20.] Here follows, in Matthew
ver. 29, Mark ver. 26, a second declaration,
respecting not drinking any more of this
fruit of the vine.

21 — 23.] AKNOTnrcmvT of a be-
trayer. See notes on Matt. xxvi. 20 —
25. I would not venture absolutely to
maintain that this announcement is iden-
tical with that one ; but I own the argu-
ments of Stier and others to prove them
distinct, fail to convince me. The expres-
sion But, behold, bears marks of verbal accu-
racy, and inclines us to believe that this
announcement was made after the insti-
tution of the cup, as here related. * Not-
withstanding this My declaration of love,
in giving My Body and Blood for you, there
is one here present who shall betray Me.*
on the table] vis. in dipping into
the dish with the Lord. 22. goeth] A
somewhat similar expression to this occurs
ch. xiii. 33, " I must walk (the Greek word
is the same) to day and to morrows" but
that is used of our Lord's ministerial pro-
peas ; this of His progress through suffer-
ing to glory.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

17—31.

ST. LUKE.

429

that m should do this thing. »* h And there was also a strife
among them, which of them should be accounted the
greatest. 25 { And he said unto them, The kings of the
Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that
exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
26 k But ye shall not be so ; l but he that is greatest among
you, let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he
that doth a serve. W m For whether is greater, he that
sitteth at meat, or he that n serveth ? is not he that sitteth
at meat ? but I am n ° among you as he that n serveth.
28 Ye are they which have continued with me in ° my
temptations. 29 And * I appoint unto you a kingdom, as
my Father hath appointed unto me ; 30 that q ye may eat
and drink at my table in my kingdom, r and sit on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31 [P And the Lord
said,] Simon, Simon, behold, • Satan hath * desired to have

hMark1x.M.
ch.ix.4A

i]fett.xx.».
Hark x. 41.

kMmtt.xx.M.

1 Pet. v.J.
leh.ix.48.

m eh. xli. S7.

a Matt, xx. S8.
John xiU. is,
14. Phil.il.

oHeb.iT.15.
plUtt.xxiv.

47. ch. xil. M.

S Cor. i. 7.

S Tim. II. IS.
qBUtt.viti.il.

eh. xIt. IB.

Rer. xix. 0.
r Pi. xlix. 14.

Matt. xix. St.

ICor. vi.S.

Be*, ill. SI.
t lPet.T.8.

m literally, was about to do.

0 literally, in the midst of you.

P omitted by tome of the most ancient authorities.

n literally, minister, and ministereth.
¥ render, prevailed.

24—80.] Dispute fob pbe-ekinehce.
Oxtr Lord's bbplt. Without attempting
to decide the question whether this inci-
dent is strictly narrated in order of time,
or identical with one of those strifes on
this point related Matt, xviii. 1, xx. 20, 1
will offer one or two remarks on it as it
here stands. (1) Its having happened at
this time is not altogether unaccountable.
They had been just enquiring among them-
selves (ver. 23), who among them should
do this thing. May it not reasonably be
supposed, that some of them (Judas at
least) would be anxiously employed in
self-justification, and that this would lead,
in some part of the table to a dispute of
the kind here introduced? The natural
effect of the Lord's rebuke would be to
give rise to a different spirit among them,
and the question, "Lord, is it I?*' may
have been the offspring of this better
mind ;— but see note on Matthew w. 20—
25. (2) It is surprising to find the very
declaration of our Lord on the former strife
related in this Gospel (ch. ix. 46—48), re-
peated as having been made at this Paschal
meal,—bj John, xiii. 20. May not this lead
us to suppose that there has been a trans-
position of some of the circumstances re-
garding these various contentions among
the Apostles, and that these words occur-
ring in John may possibly point to a
•trife of this kind? (3) The "I am in
the midst of you as he that ministereth"

is too clear an allusion to the washing of
their feet by the Lord, to have escaped
even those Commentators who are slow to
discern such hints. The appeal, if it had
taken place, is natural and intelligible;
bnt not otherwise. (4) The diction is re-
peatedly allusive to their then employment :
"sitting at meat'*— " eat and drink"—
" in my Kingdom " — all these have refer-
ence to things present, or words spoken,
during that meal.— I therefore infer that
the strife did happen at this time, in the
order related here. 26.] See on Matt.

xx. 25. The expression here they that
exorcise authority upon (over) them are
called benefactors, also seems to be con-
nected with what had just taken place.
'Among them, the benefactors are those
who exercise authority — but among you, I,
your benefactor (see vv. 19, 20), do not so,
but am in the midst of you as your ser-
vant/ Ptolemy Euergetes (the benefactor)
at once occurs to us; — numerous other
examples are given by Wetstein.
27.] Compare John xhi. 13—17. 28.]

These words could hardly have been spoken
except on this occasion, when " the matter
concerning me hath an end," ver. 37.
28, 80.] See above, and note on Matt. xix.
28, see also Rev. ii. 27. 80.] at my table :
see above, ver. 21, and note on ver. 16.

81—84.] Appeal to Peteb : his con-
fidbnce, aed ouB Lord's beplt. (See
Matt. xxvi. 80—85: Mark xiv. 26—31:

Digitized by VjOOQIC

430

st. luke:

XXII.

tAmwlx.9.
u John xtIL 0,

11, 16.
t Pi. U. 18.

John xxL 15,

IS, 17.

'you, that he may 'gift you as wheat
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not :
■ art converted, strengthen thy brethren,

s*but UI have
f and when thou

83 And he said
unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into
prison, and to death. &* And he said, I tell thee, Peter,
the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt
thrice deny that thou knowest me. 36 w ^^ ne g^ unto
them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and

r see note : render perhaps, for perspicuity, you [all] .

1 render, hast turned again.

John xiiL 36—88.) The speech appears
to proceed continuously. There are marks,
in these words of our Lord, of close con-
nexion with what has gone before. His

wXfttt.x.1
oh. lx. t: z

way, which the Father appointed to Him,
is to His Kingdom — but it is through temp-
tations. To these, who have been with
Him in these trials, He appoints a king-
dom,—\mt His way to it must be their
way : and here is the temptation, — the sift-
ing as wheat. The sudden address to
Simon may perhaps have been occasioned
by some remark of his, — or, which I think
more probable, may have been made in
consequence of some part taken by him in
the preceding strife for precedence. Such
sudden and earnest addresses spring forth
from deep love and concern awakened for
another. 31.] not only 'hath de-
sired to have you,' A. V., but hath ob-
tained you; — 'his desire is granted.'
you, all of you : not Simon alone, as
sometimes understood, even by preachers,
from the A. V. only. This must include
Judas, though it does not follow that he
was present; the sifting separated the
chaff from the wheat, which chaff he was,
see Amos ix. 9. 88. but I have prayed
for thee] As Peter was the foremost (the
rest are here addressed through him), so
he was in the greatest danger. It must
not be supposed that our Lord's prayer was
not heard, because Peter's faith did fail,
in his denial ; this word fail here implies
a total extinction, which Peter's faith did
not suffer. Though the you all in-
cluded Judas, he is not included in the
prayer; see John xvii. 6 — 12. We may no-
tice here, that our Lord speaks of the total
failure of even an Apostle's faith, as pos-
sible, when thou hast turned again]
There can, I think, be little doubt that
this word is here used in the general N. T.
sense, of returning as a penitent after sin,
turning to God, — and not in the almost
expletive meaning which it has in such
passages as Joel ii. 14; Acts vii. 42.
strengthen (or confirm)] The use of this

word, and the cognate substantive, thrice by
St, Peter in his two epistles, 1 Pet. v. 10;
2 Pet. i. 12 ; iii. 17, and in the first pas-
sage in a connexion with the mention of
Satan's temptations, is remarkable.
83, 34. J Whether these words are in close
connexion with tho preceding, may I think
be doubted. They may represent the same
reply of our Lord as we have recorded
in John xiii. 38. One thing seems

clear, without any attempt at minutely
harmonizing : that two announcements
were made by our Lord to Peter of his
future denial, occasioned by two very
different professions of his; One, — during
the last meal, i. e. before going out, and
occasioned by Peter's professed readiness
to go to prison and to death ("to lay
down his life") for and with the Lord : —
the other, — on the way to the Mount of
Olives, after the declaration that all should
be offended, and occasioned by Peter's
profession that though all should be
offended, yet would not he. Nothing is
more natural or common than the repe-
tition, by the warm-hearted and ardent, of
professions like these, in spite of warning;
— and when De Wette calls such an inter-
pretation 'a mere shift in difficulty,' all
that we can say is, to disclaim any wish to
clear up difficulties, except by going into
their depths, and examining them honestly
and diligently. If the above view be cor-
rect, I conceive that the account in John
of this profession and our Lord's answer,
being in strict coherence, and arising out
of the subject of conversation, must be
taken as the exact one : and St. Luke must
be supposed to have inserted them here
without being aware of the intermediate
remarks which led to them. This is

the only place in the Gospels where our
Lord addresses Peter by the name Peter.
And it is remarkable, as occurring in the
very place where He forewarns nun of his
approaching denial of Himself.

80— 88J Forewarning or prbxia at
hakd. Peculiar to Luke. The

Digitized by VjOOQIC

32—88.

ST. LUKE.

431

shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse,
let him take it, and likewise t his scrip : and » he that hath
no sward, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37 For I say
unto you, that this that is written must [uuyei] be accom-
plished in me, x And he was reckoned among the trans- » im.hu.ij.
gressors : for the r things concerning me have an end.
88 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And
he said unto them, It is enough.

* render, a*

11 render (see note), he that hath none, let him sell his garment, and
buy a sword.
m omit.
r most ancient authorities read, the matter concerning me hath.

ing of our Lord in this much-controverted
passage appears to he, to forewarn the
Apostles of the outward dangers which
will await them henceforward in their
mission : — unlike the time when He sent
them forth without earthly appliances, up-
held by His special Providence, they must
now make use of common resources for
sustenance, yea, and even of the sword
itself for defence. This they misunder-
stand, and point to the two swords which
they have,— for which they are rebuked
(see below). 86.] See ch. ix. 8; x.

4; also Matt. x. 9. 86.] take was

the very word used in the prohibition be-
fore. There is a question how this
sentence, which is elliptical in the original,
should be filled up. Very many autho-
rities make a sword understood after
"hath not " (as in A. ¥.);— but the simpler
construction and better sense is to place
hath not in contrast with hath, He that
hath a purse, &c., and he that hath
none, let him, &c Thus the sense will
be complete, — for he who has a purse, can
buy a sword, without selling his garment.
The 'sword of the Spirit' (Olshausen and
others) is wholly out of the question in
interpreting this command. The saying is
both a description to them of their altered
situation with reference to the world with-
out, and a declaration that self-defence
and self -provision would henceforward be
necessary. It forms a decisive testimony,
from the mouth of the Lord Himself,
against the views of the Quakers and some
other sects on these points. But it does
not warrant aggression by Christians, nor,
as some R. Catholics, spreading the Qospel
by the sword. 87.] The connexion is
this: 'your situation among men will be
one of neglect and even of danger;— for I

myself (see Matt. x. 24, 25) am about to
be reckoned among transgressors.'
By the very form of the expression it is
evident, that the sword alluded to could
have no reference to that nighfs danger,
or the defending Sim from it. the

matter concerning me hath an end] The
prophecy cited closes the section of Isaiah,
which eminently predicts the Lord's suffer-
ings (ch. lii. 13 — liu. 12). hath an
end does not merely mean ' must he ful-
filled,* which would be an assertion with-
out any special reference here — but are
coming to the completion of their accom-
plishment. So "it is finished" John xix.
80. 88.] Two of them were armed, —
either from excess of zeal to defend Him,
excited by His announcement of His suf-
ferings during this feast, — or, perhaps be-
cause they had brought their weapons
from Galilee as protection by the way.
The road from Jericho to Jerusalem (see
ch. x. 80) was much infested with robbers ;
— and it was the custom for the priests, and
even for the quiet and ascetic Essenes, to
carry weapons when travelling. Chrysos-
torn gives a curious explanation of the two
swords, — that it was probable they had
knives to cut up the Paschal lamb. This
certainly agrees with the number of the
disciples sent to get ready the Passover :
but it has nothing else to recommend it.
They exhibit their swords, misunderstand-
ing His words, and supposing them to
apply to that night. Our Lord breaks off
the matter with It if enough,— not * they
are sufficient ;' —but, It is well,— we are
sufficiently provided— * it was not to this
that My words referred.' The rebuke is
parallel with, though milder than, the one
in Markviii. 17, — as the misunderstanding
was somewhat similar.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

432

ST. LUKE.

XXII.

* Mattel. I J.

a John v. 10 1
rl.S8.

joh.xxi.17. so And he came out, and y went, as he was wont, to the
mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him..
40 x And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray-
that ye enter not into temptation. 41 And he was withdrawn
from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and
prayed, *® saying, Father, if thou be w willing y remove this
cup from me : nevertheless • not my will, but thine, be done.

b Matt! it. ii. 43 [x And there appeared ban angel unto him from heaven,

44 c And being in an agony he prayed
more earnestly : and his sweat was as it were great drops
of blood falling down to the ground.] ** And when he
rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he
found them sleeping for sorrow, ^and said unto them,

dter.40. Why sleep ye ? rise and dpray, lest ye enter into tempta-
tion.

o juui xii. 17. strengthening him

w render, willing to remove.

x verses 43, 44 are omitted in some of our oldest MSS., but contained in others, and
in the most ancient versions. See the testimonies of the Fathers in my Or, Test,

3ft— 46.] Chbibt'b agoity at the
Mount op Olives. Matt. xxvi. 86 — 4fi.
Mark xiv. 82 — 42. John xviii. 1. For all
comment on the general narrative, aee
notes on Matthew. Onr account is com-
pendious, combines the three prayers of
our Lord into one, and makes no mention
of the Three Apostles being taken apart
from the rest. On the other hand it in-
serts the very important additional details
of w. 48, 44, besides the particularity of
ver. 41, " about a stone's cast,"
48.1 The sentence is broken off at me . . .
If Bum be willing;— let it be so. TheA.V.
is not a correct reading in grammar.
48.] With the early and weighty evidence
cited in my Gr. Test, in favour of verses
48, 44, it is impossible that they should
have been an apocryphal insertion. The
passage was perhaps expunged by the
orthodox, who imagined they found in it
an inconsistency with the divine nature of
our Lord. We have reason to be thank-
ful, that orthodoxy has been better under-
stood since. The strengthening by means
of the angel is physical— and the appear-
ance likewise. It is strange how Olshausen
can have so far deceived himself as to
imagine that appeared unto him can
imply a merely inward and spiritual acces-
sion of strength from above. It is strange
likewise that the analogy of the ministra-
tion of angels in the Lord's former tempta-
tion should not have occurred to those
modern Commentators who have objected

to this circumstance as improbable.
This strengthening probably took place fte-
tween thejhrst and the second prayer ; —
and the effect of it is, that He prayed more
earnestly, ver. 44, and arrived at the en-
tire resignation expressed in the second and
third prayer of St. Matthew's narrative.
44.] The intention of the Evan-
gelist seems clearly to be, to convey the
idea that the sweat was (not fell like, but
was) like drops of blood ; — i. e. coloured
with blood,— for so I understand the aa it
were, as just distinguishing the drops
highly coloured with blood, from pure
blood, Aristotle, speaking of certain mor-
bid states of the blood, says, "when the
blood is watery, grievous disease ensues:
for it becomes serous and milky, to such
an extent that some have been* known to
perspire a bloody sweat " To suppose that
it only fell Wee drops of blood (why not
drops of any thing else? and drops of
blood from what, and where ?) is to nullify
the force of the sentence. We must

not forget, in asking on what testimony
this rests, that the marks of such drops
would be visible after the termination of
the agony. An interesting example of a
sweat of blood under circumstances of
strong tenor, accompanied by loss of
speech, is cited in the Medical Gazette for
December, 1848. It occurred in the case
of certain Norwegian sailors in a tre-
mendous storm. 45.] for sorrow—
the effect of anxiety and watching. The

Digitized by VjOOQIC

39—55.

ST. LUKE.

433

4? And while lie yet spake, behold a multitude, and he
that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them,
and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. ** But Jesus said
unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a
kiss ? 49 When they which were about him saw what
would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite
with the sword ? 60 And one of them smote the servant
of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 61 And Jesus
answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched
his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said unto the chief
priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which
were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with
swords and staves ? 6S When I was daily with you in the
temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me : ebut this •J^niil•,7,
is your hour, and the power of darkness.

6* Then took they him, and led him, and brought him
into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.
65 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the

words mag possibly express an inference
of the Evangelist: bnt I would rather
understand them as exactly describing the
cause of their sleeping.

47—53.] Betrayal and apprehen-
sion of Jesus. Matt. xxvi. 47—56.
Mark xiv. 48—52. John xviii. 2—11.
Oar narrative is here distinguished even
more than before by minute and striking
details (see on the whole the notes to
Matthew). The first of these is the

address to Judas, ver. 48, calling the
traitor by name, and setting before him
the whole magnitude of his crime in the
very words in which the treason had
lately (Matthew, ver. 46 : Mark, ver. 41)
and so often (Matt. xxvi. 2; xx. 18; xvii.
22) been announced. Another is in

ver. 49, where the disciples, seeing what
would follow, ask, Lord, shall we smite
with the sword 1 which question refers to,
and is the filling up of their misunder-
standing of our Lord in ver. 38.
Again ver. 51 is peculiar to Luke.
61.] Buffer ye thus far I understand as
addressed, not to the disciples, but to the
multitude, or rather to those who were
holding -Him;— His hands were held, —
and He says, Suffer, permit me, thus far :
i. e. to touch the ear of the wounded per-
son. If this interpretation be correct, it
furnishes an additional token of the truth-
fulness of our narrative ; for the previous
laying hold of Jesus has not been men-
tioned here, but in Matthew (ver. 60) and
Mark (ver. 46). (S.] There is an

Vol. I.

important addition here to the other re-
ports of our Lord's speech ;— but this is
your hour, and the power of darkness.
It stands here instead of the declaration
that this was done that the Scriptures
might be fulfilled (Matthew, ver. 56:
Mark, ver. 49). The inner sense of those
words is indeed implied here— but we can-
not venture to say that our report is of
the same saying, Our Lord hero

distinguishes between the power exercised
over Him by men, and that by the Evil
One:— but so as to make the power
which rules over them to be that of dark-
ness— while His own assertion of this
shews that all was by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. In
the word darkness there is also an allusion
to the time — midnight. Compare with
this declaration of the power of darkness
over Him, the declaration, in ch. iv. 13,
that the devil left Him "for a season."

64.] Matt. xxvi. 57. Mark xiv. 58.
John xviii. 13. Our narrative leaves it
undecided who this high priest was, inas-
much as, ch. iii. 2, Annas and Caiaphas
are mentioned as high priests. From St.
John we find that it was Annas ; who
having questioned Jesus, sent Him bound
to Caiaphas, before whom His trial took
place. St. Luke omits this trial alto-
gether— or perhaps gives the substance of
it in the account (vv. 66—71) of the
morning assembly of the Sanhedrim. See*
notes on Matthew.

W— 62.] Peter's three denial* or
F i

Digitized by VjOOQIC

484 ST. LUKE. XXII. 66-71.

hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among
them. w But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by
7 the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This
man was also with him. 57 And he denied [■ him], saying,
Woman, I know him not. 58 And after a little while
another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And
Peter said, Man, I am not. 69 And about the space of one
hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth
this a fellow also was with him: for he is a GaUlsean.

60 And .Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest
And immediately, while he yet 6pake, the cock crew.

61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And
Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said
unto him, Before the cock ■* crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

63 And the men that held b Jesus mocked him, and
smote him. 6* And when they had blindfolded him, they
[° struck him on the face ', and] asked him, saying, Prophesy,
who is it that smote thee? 65And many other things
blasphemously spake they against him.
•m Afitaxxii. 66 And ag goon ^ it was day, d f the elders of the people and

J literally, the light. So also Mark xiv. 54: but see note here.
s omitted, by some ancient authorities. * better, man : not expressed

in the original. •* read, CTOW this day. b read, him.

0 omitted by many ancient authorities. * render, the assembly of the

elders of the people, chief priests and scribes : see note.

Jesus. Matt xxvi. 69—75. Mark xiv. 63—05.] He is mocked. St. Lake

66 — 72. John xviii. 17, 18, 25—27. See does not, as lome Commentators say, place

throughout, table and notes in Matthew. this mocking before the trial in Caiaphas's

66.] The word light here seems to be house, but in the same place as Matthew,

used as accounting for the words beholding vv. 67, 68, and Mark ver. 65, via. after

Mm : not so in Mark xiv. 54, where it is what happened there. The trial he omits

merely "he warmed himself at the light." altogether, having found do report of it.

66. another (masculine)] In Mat- How those who take this view of St. Luke's

thew it is feminine,— in Mark, the maid, arrangement can yet suppose him to have

61.] See extract from Robinson's had Matthew and Mark before htm while

notes on Matthew, ver. 69. If, as there writing, I am wholly at a loss to conceive,

supposed, the trial was going on in an open 66—71.] Hearing before the coun-

chamber looking on the court, the look oil. (Probably) Matt, xxvii. 1. Mark

might well have been given from a con- xiv. 1. It seems probable that St. Luke

siderable distance. We need not enquire, here gives us an account of a second and

how our Lord could hear what was going formal judgment held in the morning. The

on round the fire in the court, as some similarity of the things said at the two

Commentators have done. But even were hearings may be accounted for by remem-

such an enquiry necessary, I see no diffl- bering that they were both more or less

culty in answering it. The anathemas of formal processes in legal courts, one the

Peter, spoken to those who stood by with precognition, the other the decision, at

vehemence, and the crowing of the cock,— which the things said before would be

were not these audible P But our Lord likely to be nearly repeated. 66. at

needed not these to attract His attention. soon as it was day ] Some trace of a meet-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XXIII. 1, 2.

ST. LUKE.

435

the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him
into their council, saying, 6? • Art thou the Christ ? tell vs.
And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe :
68 and if I [•• also] ask you, ye will not answer me [*, nor let
me go]. 6B & * Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the «Jgj;•1i•,,
right hand of the power of God. 70 Then said they all,
Art thou then the Son of God ? And he said unto them,
Ye say that I am. 71 And they said, What need we any
further witness ? for we ourselves have heard of his own
mouth.

XXIII. 1 And the whole multitude of them arose, and
led him unto Pilate. * And they began to accuse him,
saying, We found this * fellow •perverting I the nation, jAjjggLr.
and b forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he ££:«.'

6 render, If thou art the Christ, tell us. 6e omit.

' omitted by some ancient authorities.

% read and render, But from this time : or, But henceforth.

h not expressed in the original. Better, man.

* read, with almost all the most ancient authorities, our.

ing of the Sanhedrim after daylight I be-
lieve our Evangelist to have found, see
Matt, xxvii. 1 — and to have therefore re-
lated as then happening, the following
account of what really took place at the
former meeting. 67.] first, before

this enquiry, took place the " witness " re-
ferred to in ver. 71 ; and the person who
said this was the high priest, and with an
adjuration, Matthew, ver. 63. The render-
ing in the margin is the most natural and
correct : If thou art (not if thou be) the
Christ, tell us. The others, ( Tell us
whether thou be the Christ;9 and, 'Art
thou the Christ ? tell us,' are forced and
unusual renderings of the original.
68.1 I believe these words to have been
said as a formal protest on the part of our
Lord against the spirit and tendency of
the question asked Him, before He gives
an answer to it : and as such, they form
an original and most valuable feature in
the report. — * It is with no view to examine
and believe, that you ask this question:
nor, were I to attempt to educe from your
own mouths my innocence, would you
answer Me [or release Me], I am well
aware of the intention of this question :
but (Matthew, ver. 64) the time is come
for the confession to be made : — Hence-
forth Ac. 69.] On henceforth, see
notes on Matthew. The words " sit on
the right hand of power" are common to
all Three : only St. Luke adds "o/ God."

F P

70.] We find here, and it is worth
observing, the Son of God used as synony-
mous with the Son of Man sitting on the
right hand of the power of God, i.e. with
the glorified Messiah. On Ye say that
I am ...... see note on Matthew, ver. 64.

71.] How would it have been pos-
sible that these words should have been
said, if no "witness" had been brought
forward at this examination, and if the
very same question had been asked at the
termination of the former one ?

Chap. XX III. 1—5.] He is accused
before Pilate. Matt, xxvii. 2, 11—14.
Mark xv. 1—5. John xviii. 28—38. Our
account, not entering at length into the
words said, gives a particular and original
narrative of the things transacted at this
interview. 2.] This charge was in-

tended to represent the result of their
previous judgment, we found; — whereas,
in fact, no such matter had been before
them : but they falsely allege it before
Pilate, knowing that it was the point on
which his judgment was likely to be most
severe. The words themselves which they
use are not so false, as the spirit, and im-
pression which they convey. The forbid-
ding to give tribute to Caesar was, how-
ever, false entirely (see ch. xx. 22 ff.); and
is just one of those instances where those
who are determined to effect their pur-
pose by falsehood, do so, in spite of the
tact having been precisely the contrary to
2

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436

ST. LUKE.

XXIII.

eiTim.Ti.it. himself is Christ a King. 3cAnd Pilate asked him,
saying, Art thou the King of the Jews ? And he answered
him and said, Thou sayest it. 4 Then said Pilate to the

dipet.ii.tt. chief priests and to the i people, d I find no fault in this
man. 6 And they were the more fierce, saying, He
stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all k Jewry,
beginning from Galilee to this place. 6 When Pilate
heard pof Galilee], he asked whether the man were a
Galilean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged

•eh. hi. i. unto e Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who
himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when

fch.ix.t. Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad : for fhe was

v iutt.xiT.i. desirous to see him of a long season, because * he had heard
[m many things] of him ; and he hoped to have seen some
miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in
many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the

i render, multitudes. k in the original, Jud&a.

1 omitted by tome ancient authorities.

m omitted hy many matt ancient authorities.

that which they assert. 8J This

question is related in all four Gospels.
Bat in John the answer is widely different
from the distinct affirmation in the other
three, amounting perhaps to it in sub-
stance— at all eveuts affirming that He
was * a King ' — which was the form of their
charge. I believe therefore that the Three
give merely the general import of the Lord's
answer, which St. John relates in full. It
is hardly possible, if Jesus had affirmed the
fact so strongly and barely as the Three
relate it, that Pilate should have made the
avowal in ver. 4 — which St. John com-
pletely explains. 4.] The preceding
question had been asked within the prsa-
torium — a fact which our Narrator does not
adduce, — representing the whole as a con-
tinuous conversation in presence of the
Jews ; see John, ver. 88. We may remark
(and on this see Matthew, ver. 18 : Mark,
ver. 10) that Filate must have known well
that a man who had really done that,
whereof Jesus was accused, would be no
euch object of hatred to the Sanhedrim.
This knowledge was doubtless accompanied
(as the above-cited verses imply) with a
previous acquaintance with some of the
sayings and doings of Jesus, from which
Pilate had probably formed bis own opi-
nion that He was no euch King as His
foes would represent Him. This is now
confirmed by His own words (as related by
9t. John); and Pilate wishes to dismiss

Him, finding no fault in Him. •.]

Possibly they thought of the matter men-
tioned ch. xiii. 1, in introducing Galilee
into their charge. The opening words may
mean, they strengthened, redoubled, the
charge— or perhaps, they became urgent,
they were the more fierce, as in text.

6—18.] He is sent to Herod, and
by him bbtubned to Pilate. Pecu-
liar to Luke; see remarks on ver. 12.
Pilate, conscious that he must either do
the duty of an upright judge and offend
the Jews, or sacrifice his duty to his popu-
larity, first attempts to get rid of the
matter altogether by sending his prisoner
to Herod, on occasion of this word Galilee.
This was Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee
and Penea (see ch. iii. 1 and note on Matt,
xiv. 1), who had come up to keep the feast.
7. he sent] or remitted him, to
Herod. Orotius observes that this was the
regular practice among the Romans, to re-
mit a criminal to the ruler or judge of the
district in which his crime was alleged to
have been committed. 8, flu The

reason of our Lord's silence is sufficiently
shewn, in the account of Herod's feelings
at seeing Him. He would not use His dis-
courses or His miracles for liberating Him-
self from death, any more than He did for
ostentation, or to gratify the curiosity of
men. 10.] The accusations, of worldly

kingship and of blasphemy, would probably
be here united, as Herod was a Jew, and

Digitized by VjOOQIC

8—18.

ST. LUKE.

487

chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused

him. llhAnd Herod with his men of war set him at aim.iiu.a.

nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous

robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day

1 Pilate and Herod were made friends together : for before i^euit.v.

they were at enmity between themselves.

13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief
priests and the rulers and the people, u said unto them,
k Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that per-k™.i,s.
verteth the people : and, behold, 1 1, having examined him mn
before you, have found no fault in this man touching those
things whereof ye accuse him : 15 no, nor yet Herod : for
* / sent you to Aim; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is
done na unto Aim. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and
release him. l7 [° For of necessity he must release one
unto them at the feast.] 18 And "they cried out all atmAet.rn.i4.

n several of our early MSS. have, He sent him to US.

an render, by him. • omitted by most of the ancient authorities, but

contained in some most ancient versions.

able to appreciate the latter. 11.] hit

man of war are the body-guard in attend-
ance^ upon Herod. a gorgeous robe]
Variously interpreted: — either purple, as
befitting a king,— and why should this not
be the very "scarlet robe" afterwards
used by Pilate's soldiers (Matt, xxvii. 28 ;
"purple robe," John xix. 2) P— or white,
as the word rendered " bright " is under-
stood by some (but see note), Acts x. 80.
18.] The cause of the quarrel is
uncertain : apparently something concern-
ing Herod's power of jurisdiction, which
was conceded by Pilate in this sending
Jesus to him, and again waived by Herod
in sending Him back again. From chap,
xiii. 1, Pilate appears to have encroached
on that jurisdiction. The remarks
of some Commentators about their uniting
in enmity against Christ, are quite beside
the purpose. The present feeling of Pilate
was any thing but hostile to the person of
Christ : and Herod, by his treatment of
Him, shews that he thought Him beneath
his judicial notice. This remission of
Jesus to Herod seems not to have been in
the possession of either of the other three
Evangelists. It is worthy of notice that
they all relate the mocking by the soldiers
of Pilate, which St. Luke omits, whereas
he gives it as taking place before Herod.
This is one of the very few cases where the
nature of the history shews that both hap-
pened. Let the student ask himself,

How could St. John, if he composed his
Gospel with that of St. Luke before him,
have here given us a narrative in which so
important a fact as this is not only not re-
lated, but absolutely cannot find anyplace
of insertion ? Its real place is after John
ver.38 j— but obviously nothing was further
from the mind of that Evangelist, for he
represents Pilate as speaking continuously.

18 — 25.] FUBTHEB HEARING BEPOBE

Pilate, who stbivxb to bxlease Him,
but ultimately yields to the jews.
Matt, xxvii. 16—26. Mark xv. 6—16.
John xviii. 89, 40. Our account, while
entirely distinct in form from the others,
ia in substance nearly allied to them. In
a few points it approaches John very
nearly, compare ver. 18 with John ver. 40,
also ver. 17 with John ver. 89. The

second declaration of our Lord's innocence
by Pilate is in St. John's account united
with the first, ver. 88. In the three first
Gospels, as asserted in our. ver. 14, the
questioning takes place in the presence of
tne Jews : not so, however, in John (see
xviii. 28). IS.] Not as A. V., is done

unto him, but if done by him : meaning,
such is the issue of Herod's judgment : I
assume that he has thus decided.
16.1 Here, as Bengel observes, Pilate begins
to shew culpable weakness in yielding to
the Jews. If there be no fault in Him,
why should He be corrected at all ? — the
Jews perceive their advantage, and from

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438 ST. LUKE. XXIIL

once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us
Barabbas : 19 who for a certain sedition made in the city,
and for murder, was cast into prison. 2° Pilate therefore,
willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they
cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 2S And he said
unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done ?
I have found no cause of death in him : I will therefore
chastise him, and let him go. ^ And they were P instant
with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified.
And the voices of them [PPand of the chief priests] prevailed.

BKicHLrxiiL 24 And n Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they
required. *& And he released unto them him that for
sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had
desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. Sfl And as
they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a
Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they
laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. 2? And
there followed him a great company of * people, and of
women, which [r also] bewailed and lamented him. ** But
Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem,

oHeb.xii.i. °weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your

P i.e. Urgent. PP omitted in tame qfour earliest MSB.

* render, the people. T omit.

this moment follow it up. 85. him been of that kind of well-meant sympathy
that for sedition and murder was east which is excited by an affecting sight,
into prison] The description is inserted such as that of any innocent person deli-
for the sake of contrast;— see Acts iii. 14. vered to so cruel a death. This description
St. Luke omits the scourging and mocking need not of course exclude many who may
of Jesus. It is just possible that he might have wept from deeper and more personal
have omitted the mocking, because he had motives, as having heard Him teach, or
related a similar incident before Herod ; received some benefit of healing from Him,
but how shall we say this of the scourging, or the like. 28.] turning unto them —
if he had seen any narratives which con- after He was relieved from the burden of
tained it ? If St. Luke had had any mate- the cross. This word comes from an eye-
rials wherewith to fill up the break between witness. for me— IK* future course
verses 26 and 26, 1 have no doubt he would was not one to be bewailed — see especially
have done so. on this saying, Heb. xii. 2, — " who for the
26—38.] He is led pobth to Cbtj- joy set before Sim endured the cross, de-
CiFillON. Matt, xxvii. 31—34. Mark spising the shame." Nor again were His
xv. 20—23. John xix. 16, 17. Our ac- sacred sufferings a mere popular tragedy
count is an original one — containing the for street-bewailing; the sinners should
affecting narrative, w. 27—82, peculiar weep for themselves, not for Sim.
to itself. 26. coming out of the for yourselves, and for your children . . .
country] See on Mark. after Jeans —see Matthew ver. 25, where the people
is peculiar to Luke, and a note of ac- called down the vengeance of His blood on
curacy. 27.] These were not the themselves "and upon our children." Many
women who had followed Him from of those who now bewailed Sim perished
Galilee, but the ordinary crowd collected in the siege of Jerusalem, Those who now
in the streets on such occasions, and were young wives, would not be more than
consisting, as is usually the case (and espe- sixty when (a.p. 70) the city was taken,
cially at an execution), principally of But to their children more especially bc-
women. Their weeping appears to have longed the miseries of which the Lord here

Digitized by VjOOQIC

19—34.

ST. LUKE.

439

children. *• *For, behold, the days are coming, in the p JJf^fSj
which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the *•
wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave
suck. 3° * Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, ^gjj^J
Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. *i r For if they do Sft^16'
these things ■ in a green tree, what * shall be done * in the * J«£°j- »•
dry ? 8* ■ And there were also two other [v ,] malefactors [v ,] , JJJuaTii7'
led with him to be put to death. M And when they were
come to tbe place, which is called w Calvary, there they
crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand,
and the other on the left. 84 [z Then said Jesus, Father,

■ render, to the green tree. * render, must.

* render, to the dry. v dele the commas: see note. w render, a skull.

z omitted by the Vatican MS., and by the original corrector of the SinaUic MS.

speaks. 89. the days are ooming]

Between this and then, would be time
for that effectual weeping, which might
save both themselves and their children ; —
see Acts ii 87, 88, — but of which few
availed themselves. These few are re-
markably hinted at in the change to the
third person, which excludes them — they
snail say, i. e. not ' men in general,' nor
• My enemies,' but * the impenitent among
you, — those who weep merely tears of idle
sympathy for Me, and none of repentance
for themselves ;— those who are in Jeru-
salem and its misery, which My disciples
will not be.' On the saying itself,

compare the whole of Hosea ix., especially
vv. 12—16. 80.1 This is cited from

the next chapter of Hosea (x. 8). It was
partially and primarily accomplished, when
multitudes of the Jews towards the end of
the siege sought to escape death by hiding
themselves in the subterranean passages
and sewers under the city, as related by
Josephus : who adds that more than two
thousand were found dead in these hiding-
places, besides those who were detected
there and killed. . . . But the words are
too solemn, and too often used in a more
awful connexion, for a further meaning to
escape our notice : see Isa. ii. 10, 19, 21,
and Rev. vi. 16, where is the striking ex-
pression "from the wrath of the Lamb" —
of Him who now was the victim about to
be offered. And the whole warning — as
every other respecting the destruction of
Jerusalem — looks through the type to the
antitype, the great day of His wrath.
Now, the days are coming— then "the
great day of His wrath is come," Rev. vi.
17. It is interesting to see how often

David, who had passed so long in hiding
among the rocks of the wilderness from
Saul, calls the Lord his Sock (see Ps. xviii.

2, 46 ; xlii. 9, &c.). They who have this
defence, will not need to call on the rocks
to hide them. 81.] This vene-the

solemn close of our Lord's teaching on
earth— compares His own sufferings with
that awful judgment which shall in the
end overtake sinners, the unrepentant
human kind — the dry tree. These things
— were a judgment on sin ; — He bore our
sins s — He, — the vine, the green tree, the
fruit-bearing tree,— of Whom His people
are the branches, — if He, if they in Him
and in themselves, are so treated, so tried
with sufferings, what shall become of
them who are cast forth as a branch and
are withered ? Bead 1 Peter iv. 12—18;
— ver. 18 is a paraphrase of our text.
Theophylact's comment is excellent: "If
they do these things to Me, fruitful and
ever- flourishing and immortal from my
Godhead, what will happen to you, un-
. fruitful, and void of all life-giving righte-
ousness?"— The explanations which make
the green tree mean the young, and the
dry, the old,— or the green tree mean the
women comparatively innocent, the dry,
the guilty, at the destruction of Jerusalem,
— seem to me unworthy of the place which
the words hold, though the latter agrees
with the symbolism of Esek. xx. 47, com-
pared with xxi. 4. 82.] Since the pub-
lication of the first edition of this work, the
additional evidence of the Sinaitic MS. has
made it appear that we ought to read the
text simply, two other malefactors: not, as
I maintained before, " two others, male-
factors."

88—49.] The Crucifixion, mock-
ing, LAST WORD8, AND DEATH OF JSSVB.
Matt, xxvii. 35—50. Mark xv. 24—37.
John xix. 18—80; with however some
particulars inserted which appear later in
the other gospels. 84- J Spoken ap-

Digitized by VjOOQIC

440

ST. LUKE.

xxni.

*5?tartL«i l forgive them ; for tt they know not what they ** do.] And
icor.iT.u, faey parted his raiment, and cast lots. ** And Tthe people

"2dF^ik!w s*°°^ beholding. And the rulers also [J with them] de-
rided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself,
if he be ■ Christ, the chosen of God. M And the soldiers
also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
37 and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save

** or, are doing. 7 omit.

1 the reading it uncertain. The beet of our moat ancient authorities have, the
Christ of God, the chosen : eee note.

council, who delivered Him op, ice John
xi. 49, "ye know nothing,"— then of all,
whose sin is from lack of knowledge of the
truth, of what tin ie, and what H hoe
done,— even the crucifixion of the Lord.
But certainly from this intercession is
excluded that one sin— -strikingly brought
out by the passage thus cited as com-
mitted by him who said it, viz. Caiaphas,
—and hinted at again by our Lord, John
xix. 11— and perhaps also by the awful
answer Matt. xxvi. 64* — 4 thou eaidet it ' —
viz. in prophecy, John xi. 49; see also
Matt. xxvi. 25, — and on the sin alluded to,
Matt. xii. SI : 1 John v. 16. Observe

that between the two members of this
prayer lies the work of the Spirit leading
to repentance — the prayer that they may
have their eyes opened, and know what
they have done: which is the necessary
subjective condition of forgiveness of sins,
see 2 Tiro. ii. 25, 26. 85.] The

insults of the people are by no means ex-
cluded, even if the words with them be
omitted: nay they are implied, by the
and .... also which follows in the next
verse. To find a discrepancy with Mat-
thew and Mark here, is surely unfair: —
the people's etanding looking on, does
not describe their mind towards Jesus :
St. Luke reports no more than he had
before him: and the inference may be
drawn that those whom he has related to
have cried out an hour ago, * Crucify him,*
— would not have stood by in silence.
On ver. 48, see note there. the rulers

are the chief priests and members of the
Sanhedrim, Matthew, ver 41. The

concluding words may be rendered either
(see the reading in the margin) the Christ
of God, His elect one,— or, the elect Christ
of God. I prefer the former : but either
way, the Christ of God must be taken toge-
ther. 86.] A different incident from
that related in Matthew, ver. 48; Mark,
ver. 36 ; John, w. 28, 29. It was about
the time of the mid-day meal of the
soldiers, —and they in mockery offered Him
their poena or sour wine, to drink with

parently during the act of the cruci/unon,or
immediately that the crosses were set up.
Now, first, in the fullest sense, from the
wounds in His Hands and Feet, is His
Blood shed, for the forgiveness of sins
(Matt. xxvi. 28), and He inaugurates His
intercessional office by a prayer for His
murderers — " forgive them." This also is
a fulfilment of Scripture, Isa. liii. 12, —
where the contents of our verses 83, 34
are remarkably pointed out. His

teaching ended at ver. 31. His High
Priesthood is now begun. His first three
sayings on the Cross are for others : see
ver. 43 : John xix. 26, 27. Father]

He is the Son of God, and He speaks in
the fulness of this covenant relation, —
" I knew that Thou always heareet Met"
— it is not merely a prayer — but the prayer
of the Great Intercessor, which is always
heard. Notice that even on the Cross,
there is no alienation, no wrath of con-
demnation, between the Father and the
Son. forgive them] Who are here

intended! Doubtless, first and directly,
the four soldiers, whose work it had been
to crucify Him. The words they know
not what they are doing point directly at
this: and it is surely a mistake to sup-
pose that they wanted no forgiveness,
because they were merely doing their duty.
Stier remarks, " This is only a misleading
fallacy, for they were sinners even as
others, and their obedient and unsuspect-
ing performance of their duty was not
without a sinful pleasure in doing it, or
at all events formed part of their entire
standing as sinners, included in that sin
of the world, to which the Lord here
ascribes His Crucifixion." But not only
to them, but to them as the represen-
tatives of that sin of the world, does
this prayer apply. The persons pointed
at by they are all mankind, — the Jewish
nation, as the next moving agent in His
death, — but all of us,— inasmuch as for our
sins He was bruised. for they know

not what they do, primarily, as before,
spoken of the soldiers,— then of the

Digitized by VjOOQ IC

35—48.

ST. LUKE.

441

thyself. ^And a superscription also was written over
him [ain letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew], This
is the King of the Jews.

39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed
on him, saying, b If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, • Dost not
thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation ?

41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of
our deeds : but this man hath done nothing amiss. *& And
*he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou
comest e into thy kingdom. ^ And Jesus said unto him,
Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in

* omitted by some of the most ancient authorities.

b the moat ancient authorities have, Art not thou the Christ ?

• render, Dost thou also not.

A the most ancient authorities read, he said, Jesus, remember me.

6 render, m.

them. 88.1 See on Matthew, ver. 37.

oyer him, on the projecting up-
right beam of the cross. 39—48.]
Peculiar to Luke. St. Matthew and St.
Mark have merely a general and less pre-
cise report of the same incident. All
were now mocking ; the soldiers, the rulers,
the mob : — and the evil-minded thief, per-
haps out * of bravado before the crowd,
puts in his scoff also. 40.] Bengel
supports the notion that this penitent
thief was a Gentile. But surely this is an
unwarranted assumption. What should a
Qentile know of Paradise, or of the king-
dom of the Messiah as about to come?
The silence of the penitent is broken
by the us of the other compromising him
in the scoff. alio alludes to the mul-
titude— Dost thou too not fear Godt (as
thou oughtest to do) seeing that ....
4L we] He classes himself with
the other in condemnation, but not in his
prayer afterwards. amiss] literally
unseemly. This is a remarkable testi-
mony to the innocence of Jesus from pne
who was probably executed for his share
in those very tumults which He was ac-
cused of having excited. 48.] The
thief had heard of the announcements
which Jesus had made,— or at all events
of the popular rumour concerning his
Kingdom. His faith lays hold on the
truth that this is the King of the Jews
in a higher and immortal sense. There
is nothing so astounding in this man's
faith dogmatically considered, as has been
thought ; he merely joins the common
belief of the Jews of a Messianic King-

dom, in which the ancient Fathers were
to rise, Ac.,— with the conviction, that
Jesus is the Messiah. What is really
astounding, is the power and strength of
that faith, which, amidst shame and pain
and mocker}r, could thus lift itself to the
apprehension of the Crucified as this King.
This thief would fill a conspicuous place in
a list of the triumphs of faith supple-
mentary to Heb. xi. in thy king-
dom] The A. V., following the Lntin Vul-
gate (so also Luther), renders this "into
thy kingdom," which is a sad mistake,
as it destroys the force of the expression.
It is in thy kingdom— with thy king-
dom, so " shall eome in His glory," Matt.
xxv. 31, which we (A. V.) have translated
rightly. The above mistake entirely loses
the solemn sense of eomest — making it
merely ' comest into,9 just as we say to
" come into " an estate : whereas it is the
chief word in the clause, and " in Thy
kingdom " its qualification, at thy coming
in thy kingdom. It will be seen
that there is no necessity for supposing
the man to have been a disciple, as some
have done. It is remarkable how,
in three following sayings, the Lord ap-
pears as Prophet, Priest, and King: as
Prophet, to the daughters of Jerusalem ;—
as Priest, interceding for forgiveness; —
as King, acknowledged by the penitent
thief, and answering his prayer.

48. Ytrily I say onto thee ] The

Lord surpasses his prayer in the answer ;
the verily I say unto thee, to day, is the
reply to the uncertain "when (whenso-
ever) " of the thief. * To day] i. e.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

4A%

ST. LUKE.

xxra.

wp».xxxi.b. a loud

paradise. ** And it was about the sixth hour, and there
was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple
was rent in the midst. *° And when Jesus had cried with

corn-

voice, he said, w Father, into thy hands I *
* better, deliver up.

this day: before the close of this natural
day. The attempt to join it with I say
unto thee (" 1 say unto thee this day "),
considering that it not only violates com-
mon sense, bnt destroys the force of our
Lord's promise, is sorely something worse
than silly; see below. shalt thou be

with me can bear no other meaning than
the ordinary sense of the words, 'I shall
be in Paradise, and thou with Me/
in paradise] On these words rests the
whole explanation of the saying. What
is this Pabadisb ? The word is used of
the garden of Eden by the LXX, Gen.
ii. 8, &c, and subsequently became, in the
Jewish theology, the name for that part
of Had€a, the abode of the dead, where
the souls of the righteous await the resur-
rection. It was also the name for a
supernal or heavenly abode, see 2 Cor.
xii. 4 : Rev. ii. 7, which are the only other
places in which it occurs in the New
Testament The former of these is, I
believe, here primarily to be understood ; —
but only as introductory, and that imme-
diately, to the latter. By the death of
Christ only was Paradise first opened, in
the true sense of the word. He Himself,
when speaking of Lazarus (ch. xvi. 22),
does not place him in Paradise, but in
Abraham's bosom — in that place which
the Jews called Paradise, but by an anti-
cipation which our Lord did not sanction.
I believe the matter to have been thus.
Our Lord spoke to the thief so as He
knew the thief would understand Him;
but He spoke with a fuller and more
blessed meaning than he could understand
then. For that day, on that very evening,
was • Paradise' truly 'regained :'— opened
by the death of Christ. We know (1 Pet
iii. 18, 19, where see note ; iv. 6) that our
Lord went down into the depths of death,
— announced His triumph — (for His death
was His triumph) to the imprisoned
spirits, — and in that moment — for change
of state, to the disembodied, is possibly all
that change of place implies — they per-
haps were in the Paradise of God,— in the
blessed heavenly place, implied by the
word, 2 Cor. xii. That this is not fulness
of glory as yet, is evident ; — for the glori-
fied body is not yet joined to their spirits,
—they are not yet perfect (Heb. xi. 40);

but it is a degree of bliss compared to
which their former degree was but as im-
prisonment. This work of the Lord
I believe to have been accomplished on the
instant of Sis death, and the penitent to
have followed Him at his death — which
took place some little time after— into the
Paradise of God. That our Lord returned
to take His glorified Body, was in accord-
ance with His design, and He became
thereby the firstfruits of the holy dead,
who shall like Him put on the body of
the resurrection, and be translated from
disembodied and imperfect bliss in the
Paradise of God, to the perfection of
glorified humanity in His glory, and with
Him, not in Paradise, but at God's right
hand. 44—46.] Our account is
very short and epitomizing— containing
however, peculiar to itself, the last word
of our Lord on the cross. The impres-
sion conveyed by this account, if we had
no other, would be that the veil was rent
before the death of Jesus : — but the more
detailed account of St Matthew corrects
this. 46.] The words the sum was
darkened are probably added to give so-
lemnity to the preceding, assigning its
reason. It can hardly be, as Meyer, that
the earth was darkened till the ninth
hour, and then the sun became dark also.
46.] The use of with a loud
voice shews that this was the cry to
which St. Matthew and St. Mark allude.
The words uttered are from the LXX,
varying however from the common read-
ing " I will commend" and giving the
verb in the present, which is also the ren-
dering of the Hebrew. These words
have in them an important and deep mean-
ing. They accompany that, which in our
Lord's case was strictly speaking the act
of death. It was Sis own act— not « feel-
ing the approach of death,' as some, not
apprehending the matter, have commented ;
but a determinate delivering up of Mis
spirit to the lather. — *' Me delivered up
Mis spirit," John : see John x. 18 — " no
man talccth it from Me, but I lay it down
of Myse{f." Non« °f tn© Evangelists say
'He died:9 although that expression is
ever after used of His death stated as one
great fact: — but it is, "yielded up Mis
spirit," Matthew; "breathed Mis last,"

Digitized by VjOOQIC

44—55. ST. LUKE. 443

mend my spirit; and haying said thus, he %gave up ike
ghost. *7 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he
glorified God, saying, Certainly * this was a righteous man.
48 And all the i people that came together to that sight,
beholding the things which *were done, smote their breasts,
and returned. *° xAnd all his acquaintance, and thex5;x"TllL
women that l followed him from Galilee, stood afar off;
beholding these things.

50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a
counsellor; and he was a. good man and a just: 61the
same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them ;
he was of Arimathsea, a city of the Jews: ^who [malso ych.u.n.as.
himself\ waited for the kingdom of God. M This man
went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. M And
he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a
sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man
before was laid. M And n that day was the preparation,
and the sabbath °drew on. 66And the women also,

% render, breathed his last. See on Mark xv. 87.

* render, this man was righteous. * render, multitudes.

k letter, came to pass. l render, had followed.

m omit. n read and render, it was the day of.

0 literally, was dawning : see note.

Mark, Luke ; " delivered np Hie spirit" what he relates the Centurion to have said,
John. The spirit here is the Personality and made ' a righteous man ' (St. Lake),
— the human soul informed by the Spirit, stand in the place of ' the Son of Ood *
in union : — not separated, so that His bouI (St. Mark) ; — whereas the words only give
went to Hadfis, and His spirit to the Father, the general sense of the persuasion of the
as OUhausen thinks. Both are delivered centurion. Truly, this man was innocent:
into the hand of the Father ; by Whom — and if innocent (nay, more, just, truth-
quickened, He worked His great victory ful), He was the Son of Ood, for He had
over death and Hell. See again 1 Pet. asserted it. 48. J Peculiar to Luke. '
iii. 18> 19 and notes, and Bom. viii. 10, 11. the things which came to pass are
The latter part of the verse in the darkness and other prodigies, after
Ps. xxxi. 'for Thou hast redeemed me, O which we have no more raillery .-—men's
Lord, thou Ood of truth,' is not applicable tempers are changed, and we here see the
here. The whole Psalm is not strictly result. smote their breasts .... a
prophetic, but is applied by the Lord sign of self-accusation, at least for the
to Himself. 47—49.] (jur account, time,— which is renewed on the preaching
as well as that of St. Mark, ascribes the of Peter, Acts ii. 37. 49.] See on
impression made on the centurion to that Matthew and Mark,
which took place at the death of Jesus, 50—66.1 Bubial of the body of
— i. e. " that He thus breathed Hie last" Jesus by Joseph of Abimathjba. Matt.
Something in the manner and words con- xxvii. 57—61. Mark xv. 42 — 47. John
vinced him that this man was the Son of xix. 38 — 42 : see notes on Matthew.
Qod ; which expression he used doubtless 51. the same had not consented . . . .]
with reference to what he had before heard, Peculiar to Luke. The meaning is, he
but especially to the words just uttered — had absented himself, and taken no part
u Father, into Thy hands I commend my in their (the council's) determination
spirit/' St. Luke has not expressed the against Jesus. 54.] preparation —
words exactly the same : — but the A. V. has * the day before the sabbath/ — which now
wrongly and ungrammatically rendered drew on (was dawning);— a natural word,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

444

ST. LUKE.

XXIII. 56.

■ ch.xxltt.ti. •!

bm.SS.

s*.tuls. 'which P came with him from Galilee, followed after, and
beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. M And
they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and

nExoirx. 10. rested the sabbath day n according to the commandment.

XXIV. l Now upon the first day of the week, 4 very
early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre,
1 bringing the spices which they had prepared [r, and cer-
tain others with them] . 2 And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulchre. 8 b And they entered in, and
found not the body of the Lord Jesus. * And it came to

cAculmi pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, c behold,
two men ■ stood by them in shining garments : 5 and as
they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth,
they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the

d Matt. xri. tit dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen : d remember how he

XYfl.tt. ch.

lx-tl spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 saying, The

Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful

men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

«joh*ii.n 8 And e they remembered his words, 9and returned from

P render, had come. 4 literally, at deep {i.e. dusk) dawn.

r omit. ■ render, came upon them.

used of the conventional (Jewish) day
beginning at sunset. There is no reference
to the lighting of candles in the evening
or on the sabbath. Lightfoot has shewn
that such nse of the word was common
among the Jews, who called the evening
(the beginning) of a day, • light.'

55.] Only Mary Magdalene and
Mary, the mother of Joses (' the other
Mary/ Matthew),— Mark. 56.] They

bought their spices &c. in the short time
before sunset.

Chap XXIV. 1—12.] The Women
coming- to the 8epulchbb learn that
He is bisbn, and announce it to the

AP08TLB8, BUT ABE DISBELIEVED. Matt.

xxviii. 1—10. Mark xvi. 1—8. John. xx.
1—10: see notes on Matthew. 1.]

at deep dawn, i. e. just beginning to dawn :
" while it was yet dark " John, " as it be~
yan to dawn toward the first day of the
week" Matthew, and "very early" mark ;
but not " when the sun had risen " Mark
also : see notes there. they came—

the same women as those afterwards men-
tioned (ver. 10) who told the Apostles the
intelligence. The reference is to ch. xxiii.
65. apices, which (ch. xxiii. 66) they

had made rea<<y before the sabbath; in
Mark xvi. 1, had bought the evening be*
fore, " when the sabbath was past"

2.] This agrees with the more detailed
account in Mark: — and, as regards the
majority of the women, may also with that
in Matthew :— but not as regards the two
Maries. 4.] The narrative does not,

ss the A. Y. ("stood by them "), determine
the position of the angels. It says merely
that they came upon them, or that they
appeared to them ; the same Greek word
is used in ch. ii. 9. On the two angels
here, see note on Mark ver. 6 ; to which
1 will just add, that the Harmonistic
view, as represented by Greswell, strangely
enough puts together the angel in Mat-
thew, and the angel in Mark, and makes
the two angels in Luke : see Acts i. 10.
men — to all appearance ; the Evan-
gelist does not mean that they were such,
as clearly appears from what follows.
5.1 They call the Lord simply the living,
—aim who liveth, as addressed to the
women; but Olshausen's view of a deeper
meaning in the words should be borne in
mind ; for, as Origen truly observes, " Life,
in its highest sense, is His alone."
6, 7.] See ch. ix. 22 ; xviii. 32. The men-
tion of Galilee is remarkable, as occurring
in the angelic speeches in Matthew and
Mark in quite another connexion. Here
it is said to the women, as being from
Galilee, see ch. xxiii. 66— and meaning,

Digitized by VjOOQIC

XXIV. 1—16.

ST. LUKE.

445

the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven,
and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and
f Joanna, and Mary \}the mother] of James, and other '<*•▼*»•*•
women that were with them, which told these things unto
the apostles. n * And tt their words seemed to them as idle »▼«•*•
tales, and they believed them »ot. 12 u Then arose Peter,
and ran unto the sepulchre ; and stooping down, he beheld
the linen clothes laid by themselves, and v departed, won-
dering in himself at that which was come to pass.

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a
village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about
threescore furlongs. uAnd they talked together of all
these things which had happened. 16 And it came to pass,
that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus
himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their

* not expressed in the original* ft read, these.

* render, But Peter arose. .v render, went away home, wondering at.

* when he was yet with yon.' 9.] See

note on Mark ver. 8. 10.] It seems

as if the testimony of one of the disciples
who went to Emmaus had been the ground
of the whole former part — perhaps of the
whole— of this chapter. We find conse-
quently this account exactly agreeing with
his report afterwards, vv. 23, 24.
Joanna was the wife of Chuza, Herod's
steward, ch. viii. 2. 12.] This verse

cannot well have been interpolated from
Johu xx* for the only reason for the in-
sertion would be, to tally with ver. 24, and
in that case it certainly would not men-
tion Peter alone. That Cleopas says,
ver. 24, certain of them that were with
us went, Ac. must not be pressed too
much, although it does certainly look as
if he knew of more than one (see note
there). The similarity in diction to John
xx. 5, 10 — {u Hooping down he beheld the
linen clothes laid by themselves," and
" went away home,'9 being common to the
two passages) indicates a common origin,
and, if I mistake not, one distinct from the
rest of the narrative in this chapter.

13 — 85.] Jesus appears to two op
thb disciples at Emmaus. Peculiar to
Luke:— the incident (but from another
source) is alluded to iu the fragmentary
sddition to Mark xvi. (ver. 12.) 18.]

of them, not of the Apostles— the last
mentioned were " the eleven, and all the
rest,9' ver. 9: see also ver. 22, "of us"
(" of our company "). One of them
ver. 18, was called Kleopas (equivalent
to Kleopatros, probably a different name

from Clopas, John xix. 25: see note
on Matt. x. 3). Who the other was,
is idle to conjecture. Origen, in seve-
ral places, calk him Simon; apparently
from having understood •* saying " in ver.
84 to refer to the two from Emmaus, and
referring " hath appeared unto Simon " to
the present appearance. Epiphanius says
it was Nathaniel ; Theophylact, St. Luke
himself. This may shew what such re-
ports are worth. Wieseler believes the two
to have been, James the son of Alpharas or
Clopas or Cleopas (but see above) journey-
ing- with his father, and the appearance on
the road to Emmaus to be the same as
" was seen of James," 1 Cor. xv. 7. Our
narrative seems to have been from the re-
port of Cleopas. Emmaus] Josephus
also mentions this Emmaus as sixty furlongs
from Jerusalem. There were two other
places of the same name : (1) a town after-
wards called Nicopolis, twenty-two Roman
miles from Jerusalem, where Judas Mac-
cabeus defeated the Syrian general Oor-
gias : see 1 Mace. Hi. 40—67. (2) Another
Emmaus is mentioned by Josephus as being
in front of the sea of Tiberias : and he
adds, that Emmaus means, that there were
warm springs there. This was the case
also with the other places of the name.
Our Emmaus is now called Cubeibi (?).
16.] Jesus himself; of whom they had
been speaking, drew near to them. But
this expression forbids the supposition that
He was here, strictly speaking, in another
form, as we find it less precisely expressed
in Mark xvi. 12. The reason why they

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446

ST. LUKE.

XXIV.

eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17 And
he said unto them, What manner of w communication* are
these that ye have one z to another, as ye walk, 7 and are
sad ? 18 And \TJ the] one of them, whose name was Cleopas,
answering said unto him, ■ Art thou only a stranger in
Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come
to pass there in these days ? 19 And he said unto them,
What things? And they said unto him, Concerning

hX%"fcu* Jesus °f Nazareth, h which was a prophet ! mighty in deed
£w "itl* and word before God and all the people ; 20 k and how the

l^*-^-.1?- chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned

k eh. xziil. 1. *

Acuxiii.*. to death, and [*have] crucified him. *i But we * trusted

*».lASto?;«.that it had been he which should have • redeemed Israel :

and beside all this, to day is the third day since these

things were done. ** Yea, and certain women also of our

w render, disputes.
7 the reading it doubtful,
sad. 77 omit.

a omit.

x render, with.
The Vatican MS. hat, And they stood looking
1 render, Dost thou sojourn alone.
b literally, hoped.

did not know Him was (ver. 16), that
their eye* were eupernaturaUy influenced,
»o that they could not ; — see also ver. 31.
No change took place in Him — nor ap-
parently in them, beyond a power upon
them, which prevented the recognition
jnst so much as to delay it till aroused
by the well-known action and manner of
His breaking the bread. The cause of
this was the will of the Lord himself, who
would not be Been by them till the time
when He saw fit. drew near— from

behind : see ver. 18, where they take Him
for an inhabitant of Jerusalem.
17.] He had apparently been walking with
them some little time before this was
said. The term used by our Lord implies
that they had been disputing with some
earnestness ; but there is no blame implied
in the word. Possibly, though both were
sad, they may have taken different views :
—and in the answer of Cleopas we have
that of the one who was most disposed to
abandon all hope. 18.] They took

Him (but we must not think of a peculiar
dialect as giving that impression) for one
who had been at Jerusalem at the feast :—
and asked, Dost thou lodge (sojourn) alone
at Jerusalem 1 19—24.] Stier well

remarks, that the Lord here gives us an in-
structive example how far, in the wisdom
of love, we may carry dissimulation, with-
out speaking untruth. (See the citation

from Jer. Taylor below, on ver. 29.) He
does not assert, that He was one of the
strangers at this feast at Jerusalem, nor
does He deny that He knew what had been
done there in those days, but He puts the

Juestion by, with What things!
9. they said unto him] Either, one spoke
and the other assented; or perhaps each
spoke, sometimes one and sometimes the
other; — only we must not break up these
verses, and allot an imagined portion to
each. They contain the substance of what
was said, as the reporter of the incident
afterwards put it together. which

was a prophet . . . : see a similar general
description of Him to the Jewish people,
Acts ii. 22. They bad repeatedly acknow-
ledged Him as a Prophet : see especially
Matt. xxi. 11, 46. The phrase "mighty
in worde and in deed* " occurs of Moses,
Acts vii. 22. 20.] The how follows

on the hast not known, ver. 18.
our rulers] Therefore the two disciples
were Jews, not Grecian converts, as some
have supposed. delivered him, to

Pilate. 21.] hoped is a word of

weakened trust, and shrinking from the
avowal that they 'believed' this,
redeemed — in the theocratic sense — in*
eluding both the spiritual and political
kingdom : see ch. i. 68, 69, 74, 75, and
compare Acts i. 6. to day if the third

day] literally, he is now in the third

Digitized by VjOOQIC

17—29.

ST. LUKE.

447

company bmade us astonished, which were early at thebv?.t,i*
sepulchre ; ** and when they found not his body, they
came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels,
which said that he was alive. 24 And c certain of them0*"-11-
which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it
even so as the women had said : but him they saw not.
26 Then he said unto them, O ° fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26d ought not ^SlI^pS
Christ to have suffered these things, and to d enter into his
glory ? *7 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself. ^And they drew nigh unto thetsw<Jen
village, whither they went : and e he made as though he Sff! V* :
would have gone further. 29 But they 'constrained him, '^gyj^m,

0 render, without understanding.

day: the words are spoken not with-
out a reference, in the mind of the
speaker, to His promise of rising on the
third day. 82.1 Tea, and ... or,

but, moreover— equivalent to, 'certainly,
thus much has happened, that' ....
of our company— literally, of ni:— 'dis-
ciples, as we are/ The Apostles are dis-
tinguished presently as certain of them
which were with us, ver. 24.
88.] This agrees exactly with St. Luke's
own narrative, but not with St. Matthew's,
in which they had seen the Lard Him-
self. There seems however to be some
hint that the women had said something
of having seen the Lord, in the "him
they saw not" said below of the " cer-
tain of them which were with us."
84. certain] See ver. 12 and note.
It is natural, even in accordance with ver.
12, that the antithesis to "certain women "
before, and the loose way of speaking to a
stranger, who (they believed) was not
acquainted with any among them, might
cause them here to use this word without
any reference to Peter being accompanied.
But what wonder, if the reports of such
a day of anxiety and confusion were them-
selves disjointed and confused?
86.] The word rendered moll is more
properly without understanding: — alow
of heart, i. e. sluggish — in disposition—
to believe: these were both shewn in their
not having apprehended, from the fulfil-
ment of the sufferings and death of Christ,
the sequel of that death, the resurrection.
86. to have suffered . . . and to
have entered] The sufferings were the
appointed way by which Christ should

d render, have entered.

enter into His glory. It was not the
entering into His glory, but the suffering,
about which they wanted persuading.
87.] beginning belongs to both the
following clauses. A similar expression is
found Acts iii. 24. He began with Moses
first;— He began with each as He came to
them. the things concerning himself.

Be Wette remarks, "it were much to
be wished that we knew what prophe-
cies of the death and triumph of Christ
are here meant. There are but few that
point to the subject." But I take the
things concerning himself to mean some-
thing very different from mere prophetical
passages. The whole Scriptures are a
testimony to Him: the whole history of
the chosen people, with its types, and its
law, and its prophecies, is a shewing forth
of Him : and it was here the whole,— all
the scriptures,— that He laid out before
them. This general leading into the mean-
ing of the whole, as a whole, fulfilled in
Him, would be much more opportune to
the place, and time occupied, than a direct
exposition of selected passages. the

things concerning himself is right : not,
' the parts concerning Him.' Ob-

serve the testimony which this verse gives
to the divine authority, and the Christian
interpretation of the Old Testament
Scriptures : so that the denial of the re-
ferences to Christ's death and glory in
the O. T. is henceforth nothing less than
a denial of His own teaching.
89. they constrained him] It is not
implied that He said any thing to in-
dicate that He would go further— but
simply, that He was passing on. "Our

Digitized by VjOOQIC

448

ST. LUKE.

XXIV,

saying, Abide with us : for it is toward evening, and the
day is • far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he

■S^S.*'191 * took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
81 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him ; and

bjoh?rtu'.8:ne b vanished out of their sight. 82 And they said one to
another, Did not our heart burn ['within us], while he
ff talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the
scriptures? 33And they rose up the same hour, and
returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered
together, and them that were with them, ** saying, The

ei cor. it. u. Lord is risen indeed, cand hath appeared to Simon.

• read, now far.

% render, spoke to US.

f omitted in some of the early MSS.

blessed Saviour pretended that He would
pass forth beyond Emmaus j but if He in-
tended not to do it, yet He did no injury
to the two disciples, for whose good it was
that He intended to make this offer : and
neither did He prevaricate the strictness of
simplicity and sincerity, because they were
persons with whom He had made no con-
tracts ; to whom He had passed no obliga-
tion ; and in the nature of the thing, it
is proper and natural, by an offer, to give
an occasion to another to do a good action :
and in case it succeeds not, then to do
what we intended not; and so the offer
was conditional." Jer. Taylor, Sermon on
Christian Simplicity. Works (Heber), vi.
156. with us does not imply that

they lived at Emmaus; merely in the
tame quarters with ui. 3b.] I be-

lieve that there was something in the
manner of His breaking the bread, and
helping and giving it to them, which was
his own appointed means of opening their
eyes to the recognition of Him. But we
must not suppose any reference to, much
less any celebration of, the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, Neither of these dis-
ciples was present at its institution (but
see Wieseler's conjecture, which is at all
events worth consideration, in note on
ver. 13) ; and certainly it had never been
celebrated since. With this simple con-
sideration will fall to the ground all that
Romanists have built on this incident,
even to making it a defence of administra-
tion in one kind only. The analogy of
such a breaking and giving with His in-
stitution of that holy ordinance becomes
lost, when we force the incident into an
example of the ordinance itself. The Lord
at their meal takes on Him the office of

the master of the house (which alone
would shew that it was not their house,
but an inn), perhaps on account of the
superior place which His discourse had
won for Him in their estimation : — and as
the Jewish rule was, that "three eating
together were bound to give thanks,"
He fulfils this duty. In doing so, perhaps
the well-known manner of His taking
bread, &c., perhaps the marks of the nails
in His hands, then first noticed, or these
together, as secondary means, — but cer-
tainly Mis own will and permission to he
seen by them, opened their eyes to know
Him. 31.] he vanished out of their

tight does not imply His Body to have
remained, though invisible to them: but
plainly indicates in the original, besides
the supernatural disappearance, a real ob-
jective removal from them* 32.] * Was
there not something heart-kindling in His
discourse by the way, which would have
led us to suppose that it was none but the
Lord Himself?' not that they did sup-
pose it,— but the words are a sort of self-
reproach for not having done so. Com-
pare Matt. vii. 29. he spoke to us,
not merely, • with us,' as A. V. : it was not
so much a talking with them, as a dis-
course delivered to them, 33.] "They
have now no fear of the journey at night,
from which they before dissuaded their un-
known companion." Bengel. The whole
eleven were not there — Tnomas was not
present. Some have derived an argument
from this incompleteness in their number,
for the second of the travellers being also
an Apostle ; see above on ver. 13.
Who them that were with them are, we
learn from Acts i. 14. 84.] This
appearance to Simon (i. e. Peter— the.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

30—42.

ST. LUKE.

449

85 And they told what things were done in the way, and
how he was known of them in ft breaking of bread.

86 And as they thus spake, * Jesus himself d stood in the <ncor.x?.5.
midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
87But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed
that they i had seen • a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, eM»rkyi.4».
Why are ye troubled ? and why do k thoughts arise in your
hearts ? 89 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I
myself: f handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh fJ^n"-^
and bones, as ye see me have. 4° And when he. had thus
spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 4l And
while they yet believed not for ljop, and wondered, he
said unto them, g Have ye here any m meat ? 4a And they * John ni. b.
gave him a piece of a broiled fish[a, and of an honey-

ft render, his breaking. * read, he.

i render, beheld. k render, reasonings.

1 render, their joy. m i.e. food.

n omitted by almost ail the ancient authorities : see note.

other Simon would not be thus named
without explanation; see ch. v. 3 ff.) is
only hinted at here — bat is asserted again,
1 Cor. xv. 5, in immediate connexion with
that which here follows. It is not clear
whether it took place before or after that
on the way to Emmans. 36.1 And they
— the travellers, distinguished from the
others— not • they also,' for thus we should
leave the clause without a copula,
known of them in his breaking of bread]
That this should have been so, does not
exclude the supernatural opening of their
eyes : see above, on ver. 31.

36 — 48.] Appeabancb of Jesus to
the DIBOIPLE8. Mark xv i. 14. John xx.
19—23. The identity of these appearances
need hardly be insisted on. On St. Mark's
narrative, see notes there. That of St.
John presents no difficulties, on one sup-
position, that he had not seen this of St.
Luke. The particulars related by him are
mostly additional, but not altogether so.
36.] stood in the midst of them —
while they were speaking of these things,
— possibly not entirely crediting the ac-
count, as seems hinted at in Mark xvi. 18,
— the Lord appeared, the doors being shut,
in the midst (John xx. 19 and notes).
Peace be unto yon, the ordinary
Jewish salutation, see ch. x. 5, but of more
than ordinary meaning in the mouth of
the Lord: see John xiv. 27. 37.]

On account of His sudden appearance, and
the likeness to one whom thev knew to
Tot,. T.

have been dead. a spirit is a ghost

or spectre— *n appearance of the dead to
the living; not exactly as "a phantasm,"
■ Matt. xiv. 26, which might have been any
appearance of a supernatural kind.
38.] Not merely 'thoughts,' as A. V., but
reasonings, questionings. 39.] There
seems to be some doubt whether the refer-
ence to His hands and feet were on ac-
count of the marks of the nails, to prove
His identity, — or as being the uncovered
parts of His body, and to prove his cor-
poreity. Both views seem supported bv
the text, and I think both were united.
The sight of the Hands and Feet, which
they recognized as His, might at once
convince them of the reality of the appear-
ance, and the identity of the Person. The
account of St. John confirms the idea that
He showed them the marks of the nails,
both by Sis side being added, and by the
expressions of Thomas which followed. The
same seems also implied in our ver. 40.
The assertion of the Lord must not
be taken as representing merely 'the popu-
lar notion concerning spirits ' (Dr. Burton) ;
He who is the Truth, does not speak thus
of that which Me knows, and has created.
He declares to us the truth, that those ap-
pearances to which He was now likened by
the disciples, and spirits in general, have
not flesh and bones. Observe flesh and
bones — but not blood. This the resurrec-
tion Body probably had not, — as being the
animal life: — see notes on John vi. 51,
O G

Digitized by VjOOQIC

450

ST. LUKE.

XXIV.

hAcux.4i. comb]. 43* And he took it, and did eat before them.
44 And he said unto them, These are ° the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things
must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses,
and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
46 Then opened he their understanding, that they might
understand the scriptures, wand said unto them, P 'Thus it
is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise

SfMs. fr°m *ne <^ea^ tne *n^ ^7 : w an<^ tnat repentance and
k remission of sins should be preached in his name among

48 [*And] xye are
49 And, m behold, I send the

lAetaxrii.8.

ver. ».
k Dan. ix. M.

▲ctsxlil.SS,

40. Uohn

Ii. IS.
1 John xr. 17-

m Ira. xliv. 8.
Joel ii. i8.

£".«! all' * nations, beginning at Jerusalem
Act. i. 4s ii. ^tnesses of these things,

l.&c.

0 read, my.

P read, Thus it is written that Christ should suffer, and should
4 render, the nations. r omit.

and John xx. 27. 48.] This was done

farther to convince them of his real cor-
poreity. The omission of the words and
of an honeycomb in the best MSS. is re-
markable : see var. readd. It may possibly
have arisen from an idea in some tran-
scriber that this meal is the same as that
in John xxi. 9. The words could hardly
have been an interpolation. 44.]

Certainly, from the form of the beginning
of this verse, which implies immediate
sequence, St. Luke, at the time of writing
his Gospel, was not in possession of records
of any Galilcean appearances of the Lord,
nor indeed of any later than this one. That
he corrects this m Acts i., shews him mean-
time to have become acquainted with some
other sources of information, not however
perhaps including the Galilean appear-
ances. The following discourse appa-
rently contains a summary of many things
said during the last forty days before the
ascension; — they cannot have been said
on this evening ;— for after the command
in ver. 49, the disciples would not have
gone away into Galileo. Whether the
Evangelist regarded it as a summary, is
to me extremely doubtful. Knowing ap-
parently of no Galilsean appearances, he
seems to relate the command of ver. 49,
both here and in the Acts, as intended to
apply to the whole time between the Re-
surrection and the Ascension. These
are my words . . . i. e. ' behold the reali-
zation of My words/ Ac. which I
•pake: see ch. xviii. 31—33; xxii. 37;
Matt. xxvi. 56 al. ; but doubtless He had
often said things to them on these matters,
which have not been recorded for as. So
in John x. 26, we have perhaps a reference

to a saying not recorded. . This three-
fold division of the O. T. is the ordinary
Jewish one, into the Law, Prophets, and
Hagiographa, — the first containing the
Pentateuch;— the second Joshua, Judges,
the four books of Kings, and the Prophets,
except Daniel ;— the third the Psalms, and
all the rest of the canonical books: —
Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah being
reckoned as one book, and the Chronicles
closing the canon. 47.] The sub-

stance of the preaching of the Gospel lite-
rally corresponded to this description —
see Acts ii. 38: "Repent and be baptised
every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins," — were
the words of the first sermon preached at
Jerusalem. 48. ye] From what follows,
Acts i. 22, if these words are to be taken
in their strict sense, they must have been
spoken only to the Apostles; — they may
however have been more general, and said
to all present. 49.] This promise is

explained (Acts i. 5) to be the baptism
with the Holy Ghost,— and the time is
limited to ' not many days hence.'
I send (the I is emphatic)] The proces-
sion of the Holy Spirit from the Son is
clearly here declared, as well as that from
the Father. And consequently we find St.
Peter, in Acts ii. 33, referring back to
these very words, in ascribing the out-
pouring of the Spirit to the now exalted
Saviour. In that verse, the " I " of this
is filled up by " being by the right hand of
God exalted " — the proper supplement of
it here also. The promise itself is not

found in the three Gospels, but expressly
and frequently in John xiv. — xvi. : see
xiv. 16—26; xv. 26; xvi. 7—11, 13, 14.

Digitized by VjOOQIC

43—53.

ST. LUKE.

451

promise of my Father upon you : but tarry ye in the city

[■ of Jerusalem], until ye be * endued with power from

on high. 60 And he led them out n as far as to Bethany, nAct»i.u.

and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 61 ° And it 0i*liErk

came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from f.«.'1EPh.cto

them, and carried up into heaven. 6*PAnd they wor-p*^"*111-

shipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy :

63 and were continually «in the temple, praising andq^cS.l!•w,

blessing God. [* Amen.]

■ omit. t render, clothed.

The present, I fend, is not equiva-
lent to a future, but implies that the
actual work is done, and the state brought
in, by which that sending is accomplished ;
— viz. the giving of the "all power in
heaven and earth," Matt, xxviii. 18.
The words "of Jerusalem" have proba-
bly been interpolated by some who, be-
lieving these words to represent the
GalilsBan discourse, placed it here for an
explanation : or perhaps Acts i. 4 gave
occasion to it. This command must have
been (historically) uttered after the return
from Galilee : see above. be clothed

with] The verb here has its full meaning,
of abiding upon and characterizing* as a
garment does the person. This, as Stier
remarks, was the true and complete
clothing of the nakedness of the Fall.
60.] The Ascension appears to be
related as taking place after the above
word* were epoken — but there is an un-
certainty and want of specification about
the narrative, which forbids us to conclude
that it is intended as following imme-
diately upon them. This, however, can
only be said as taking the other Gospels
and Acts i. into account : if we had none
but the Gospel of St. Luke, we should
certainly say that the Lord ascended
after the appearance to the Apostles
and others, on the evening of the dag
of Bis resurrection. he led them

out, i. e. probably, from the words "in
the citg" just having occurred, out-
side Jerusalem: but the "out" might
only apply to the houee in which they
were: see Matt. xxvi. 76. as

far as to Bethany— not quite to the
village itself, but over the brow of tho
Mount of Olives, where it descends on
Bethany : see Acts i. 12. (The synony-
mousness of these two expressions may
shew that the same is meant, when, Mark
xi. 11, our Lord is said to have gone out at
night to Bethany, and Luke xxi. 37, to the
Mount of Olives.) 61.] he was

11 omitted by several ancient authorities.

parted from them— not, ' He went a little
distance from them previous to Sis ascen-
sion,'— as Meyer would interpret it; but
the two verbs belong to one and the same
incident,— he was parted from them and
borne up into heaven. We need not un-
derstand, ' by an angel,9 or' by a cloud;'
the absolute passive is best. The

tense is imperfect, signifying the con-
tinuance of ike going up during the
"worshipping" of the next verse.
The more particular account of the Ascen-
sion is given Acts i. 9 — 12, where see
notes. That account is in perfect ac-
cordance with this, but supplementary to
it. 68. they worshipped him] This

had been done before by the women, Matt.
xxviii. 9, and by the disciples on the
mountain in Galilee. This however was a
more solemn act of worship, now paid to
Him as exalted to God's right hand.
63.] continually,— not 'all their
time ;' — daily, at the hours of prayer : see
Actsi. 13,14; iii. 1.

A few words must be appended here in
vindication of thb cibcumstaxcbs op
thb Ascension. To those who doubt
the fact of an Ascension at all, I have
nothing to say, standing as I do alto-
gether on different ground from them.
The Lord Himself foretold His
Ascension, John vi. 62; xx. 17:— it was
immediately after His disappearance from
the earth expressly announced by the
Apostles, Acts ii. 33, 34 ; v. 31 -.—con-
tinued to be an article of their preaching
and teaching, 1 Pet. iii. 22 ; Eph. ii. 6 ;
iv. 10; 1 Tim. iii. 16. So far should we
have been assured of it, even had wo not
possessed the testimonies of St. Luke here
and in the Acts:— for the fragment super-
added to the Gospel of St. Mark merely
states the fact , not the manner of it. But,
to take first the a priori view, — is it pro-
bable that our Lord would have left so
weighty a fact in His history on earth,
without witnesses T And might we not

Digitized by LjOOQIC

452

ST. LUKE.

have concluded from the wording of John
vi. 62, that our Lord most have intended
an ascension in the sight of some of those
to whom He spoke, and that the Evangelist
himself gives thai hint, by recording those
words without comment, that he had seen
it? Then again, is there any thing

in the bodily state of our Lord after His
Resurrection, which raises any even the
least difficulty here? He appeared sud-
denly, and vanished suddenly, when He
pleased: — when it pleased Him, He ate,
He spoke, He walked ; but his Body was
the Body of the Resurrection ; — only not
yet his Body of Glory (Phil. iii. 21),
because He had not yet assumed that

Slory : but that He could assume it, and
id assume it at his Ascension, will be
granted by all who believe in Him as the
Son of God. So that it seems, on ct priori
grounds, probable that, granted the fact
of the Ascension, it did take place in some
such manner as our accounts relate : — in
the sight of the disciples, and by the up-
lifting of the risen Body of the Lord
towards that which is to those on this
earth the visible heaven. This being

so, let us now, secondly, regard the matter
& posteriori. We possess two accounts of

the circumstances of this Ascension, written
by the same person, and that person a con-
temporary of the Apostles themselves. Of
the genuineness of these accounts there
never was a doubt. How improbable that
St. Luke should have related what any
Apostles, or apostolic persons might have
contradicted 1 How improbable that the
universal Church, founded by those who
are said to have been eye-witnesses of this
event, should have received these two ac-
counts as authentic, if they were not so ?
That these accounts themselves are never
referred to in the Epistles, is surely no
argument against them. If an occasion
had arisen, such as necessitated the writing
of 1 Cor. xv., there can be little doubt that
St. Paul would have been as particular in
the circumstances of the Ascension, as he
has been in those of the Resurrection. The
fact is, that by far the greatest difficulty
remains to be solved by those who can
imagine a myth or fiction on this subject
to have arisen in the first age of the
Church. Such a supposition is not more
repugnant to our Christian faith and
reverence, than it is to common sense and
historical consistency.

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CATENA CLASSICORUM,

A SEEIES OF CLASSICAL AUTHOBS,

EDITED BY MEMBERS 07 BOTH UNIVERSITIES UNDER
THE DIRECTION OP

THE REV. ARTHUR HOLMES, M.A.

FELLOW AND LECTURER OF OLABE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
XVJ>

THE REV. CHARLES BIGG, M.A.

SENIOR STUDENT AND LATE TUTOR OR CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD, SECOND
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Full text of "The New Testament for English readers : containing the authorized version, marginal corrections of readings and renderings, marginal references, and a critical and explanatory commentary"

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